If I could Turn Back Time, I'd Still Choose This
by wolfpawn
Summary: Imagine that when Odin found Loki on Jotunheim, he did not take him to raise as his son, as Frigga was pregnant at the time, instead, he was given to a normal Aesir family. Years later, Loki meets Odin's daughter Sigyn, and trouble ensues.
1. Chapter 1

Odin looked at the child in shock. It was clearly terrified, yet it remained quiet. At first, he thought it dead, but as its ruby red eyes looked at him, he realised, it was alive still. He walked over and bent down slightly to take a better look at it with his one remaining eye. It was so small, too small for a Frost Giant, he realised the markings were that of Laufey's line itself, but oddly, the little creature had hair, something he had never known a full Jotunn to possess. He wondered where the dam was, but as the child began to cry, he ceased to care.

'Allfather?' Tyr asked, walking over to him, looking at the child also.

'It will succumb to the elements soon.' The king stated. He collected the child in his arms, who ceased crying and looked at him as though curious as to the strange being that was now holding it. 'It is not a full one.'

'What will we do with it?' His general asked.

'I am unsure, but this child is not fully one of them, look at its features.'

'Aesir or Vanir? Could be Midgardian too.'

'No, not Midgardian, I can sense some magic, I think Vanir.' He used his own magic to put a glamour on the child, hiding its blue skin, markings and altering its red eyes. His curiosity caused him to check more and moved its cloth a little. 'A boy.' He gave the order for Tyr to get the casket and turned, the child in his arms still. 'I cannot guarantee that he is not Aesir, and for that alone, I need to bring him back to Asgard, he is clearly left to die, there is no sign of another here.'

'But he is one of them, Sire.'

'They are adults that chose to war and kill others, he is but an infant, he has chosen no war.' Odin stated. 'But what to do with him?'

'Allfather?' The king turned to look at a soldier. 'If I may be so bold.'

'Yes?' He indicated for the man to step forward.

'My brother, he and his wife, they have lost five children, she cannot get them to survive birth, they yearn greatly for a child.' The man stated. 'I know they would take him in willingly, give him a loving and nurturing home.'

Odin looked at the man, then back to the infant, who was looking at him in fascination. 'Can they provide for him?'

'My brother has his own home and business, they can indeed.'

'Very well, then he can be given a chance.' The King smiled slightly.

'Do you think it wise, Odin?' Tyr asked his friend.

'How could I go home to my wife and tell her I left a child to perish here when she grows our own in her?' Odin asked. 'I cannot leave an innocent child here. To do so makes me as bad as his sire.' With a nod, the soldier took the baby, and they all went back to an area where Heimdall could retrieve them and used the Bifrost to leave the now weakened Jotunheim and return to Asgard, the Casket of Ancient Winters and the small infant in hand.

When they returned to the city, Odin looked to the soldier that was safely holding the child under a pelt, when the man noticed him, he bowed slightly, getting one in return from the King, who felt better, knowing the child stood a chance at a normal life as he made his way back to the palace, to his wife, his young son and to the impending birth of his second child.

'Loki, get back here.' The black-haired boy looked at his father excitedly. 'You could be hit by a horse.'

'Father, I want to see them.' Loki stretched his neck to see what was in front of them.

'Settle down,' His father smiled before getting his son and putting him on his shoulders. 'Better?'

Loki smiled as he watched the Aesir royal family's carriage pass by. 'I can see the Allmother and Prince Thor.' He shouted excitedly.

'Very good.' His father grinned at his son's excitement at seeing the royal family. He looked himself and found himself silently being grateful to the Allfather, the man he knew was mere metres away from, for giving him and his wife something they yearned so greatly for.

When the Allfather turned his head and looked out the window, Tomás noticed the king look at him and his son for only the slightest moment before looking around again. He wondered did the king recognise the boy he had helped save or was he simply glancing the crowd. He did not think he would ever know. 'Come on, son. We need to get back to the workshop.'

'Fine.' Loki sulked slightly as his father turned and began to walk, allowing his son stay on his shoulders.

'What's wrong?'

'I did not see them all.'

'You saw the Allfather, Allmother, and Prince Thor, didn't you?'

'I know, but still.' He turned to look back towards the carriage, only to no longer be able to see it, defeated, he allowed his father take him down from his shoulders and walked dutifully beside him, having already gotten in trouble twice that day for being somewhat mischievous.


	2. Chapter 2

Loki pulled his tunic off, the sweat dripping from him as the fire heated more and more, making the forge hotter and hotter with it. It was ironic that he would inherit his father's trade as a blacksmith when he severely disliked intense heat. He looked at the now ready fire, so he shoved in the piece of metal he required to shape and then went to put his protective apron before returning to retrieve the heated metal.

He was concentrating on hammering the metal when he sensed he was no longer alone, he turned and was shocked to find a girl, around the same age as himself standing behind him. 'Hi.'

'Hello,' she smiled back. 'I didn't want to startle you and risk you hurting yourself.'

Loki felt his stomach clench slightly as he looked at her. She was not like the girls he saw daily that lived in the different homes that surrounded his, girls who had trades such as seamstresses and cooks, this girl clearly did not work, born to wealth, her hair pinned back with gold and precious jewels, her hair was golden in colour, her face one of elegance, her expensive dress hidden by a plain yet still clearly expensive cloak. She was by far, the most beautiful creature Loki had ever seen. Her eyes kind and caring. 'Can…' Loki cleared his throat, embarrassed by the high pitch his voice had taken on. 'Sorry, can I assist you in any way...miss….?'

'Are you the blacksmith?' She asked curiously.

'Well, I'm hardly in here because I want to risk burning myself for no reason.' Loki joked.

'Shouldn't you be wearing some form of protective clothing?'

'I feel like I am boiling alive if I do.' Loki shrugged.

'So, you are the blacksmith?'

'I thought we went through this already.'

The girl circled him slightly, looking him up and down as she did. 'Only, my father told me that the blacksmith of the city was the same man that shod my horse, and you are most certainly not the man that I have seen come to my home.' Loki raised a brow at her statement, realising she had been aware that he was lying all along. 'So are you his apprentice?'

'Of sorts.'

'A blacksmith that is not too fond of heat,' She gave a small laugh. 'I think you may need to rethink your profession.'

Loki chuckled. 'Perhaps I should. But that would upset my father something terrible.'

The girl frowned. 'He wants you to be a blacksmith?'

'Yes, he wants me to take over this place.' He indicated to the workshop.

'So you are the blacksmith's son?'

'Yes.'

'You see, that would have saved us all this time.' She laughed. 'Why didn't you simply say that from the beginning?'

'I don't know.' Loki shrugged.

'I think you do and you do not wish to tell me, for whatever reason.' The girl stated. 'Is your father here?'

'Not at present, he is gone to shoe a horse.'

'Damn.' She seemed genuinely upset by that.

'Perhaps I can help?' Loki offered.

'I….I need something made that only a crafted blacksmith can design, and I mean no offence with that, only it needs to be worn in battle, so I need it to be done carefully.'

'I have been helping my father with armour for over two centuries, a lot of what leaves this place is my own design. I could take your order and give it to him.' The girl looked reluctant to do so. 'Or you could come later.'

'I can't. I am going to be in enough trouble for leaving this time if I am caught.'

'Please, I can take the order.' Loki offered. 'I know how fathers can be.'

The girl laughed slightly. 'My father is literally the King of overprotective fathers. I think he thinks I am at risk of being stolen away, the way he acts.'

'I hear fathers can be like that with daughters.'

'You don't have sisters?'

'No, there's just me.' The seemed somewhat startled by that. 'Yes, not the usual family.'

'There is only myself and my older brother, I think after me, my parents were adamant about no more, I am too much work.' She smiled.

'You cannot be as bad as me.'

'I feel like you are setting me a challenge with that.' She laughed.

Loki wanted to continue talking to this girl about unimportant matters but he knew he had to get what she wanted so his father would be happy he did not "mess about" in his absence and to get her what she needed. 'I think I could shock you.' He chuckled back. 'But please, tell me what you need. I will inform my father on his return.'

'I need a pair of, well, I was going to discuss either pauldrons or gauntlets, see which are easier and better suited to my requirements.'

Loki looked at her, startled. 'Pauldrons and gauntlets, as in armour?'

'Yes, I stated already they are for battle.'

'For you?'

'Norn no, my father would never allow such a thing.'

'So for a man?'

'Yes.'

'Do you know the measurements?'

'Sort of.'

'Good armour cannot be made without accurate measurements.' Loki explained.

'Yes, I know, I say "sort of" because though I do not have accurate dimensions, I do have some of his current armour, so….'

'You have it, here?' Loki could not see any sign of such a thing on her person.

'Yes.' She smiled politely.

'And they are made to his specifications?'

'They are.'

'Well, we can work with that.'

'And your father can put designs on them?'

'Yes.' There was a slight hesitation with Loki's response.

'You and the truth have a very strained relationship I think.'

'You have no idea.'

'So what is the issue with the designs?'

'My father is not one for designs.'

'So no designs then?' She was clearly disappointed.

'No, I can have whatever you want put on them.' Loki assured her. She frowned in confusion. 'Get me the pauldrons and gauntlets and I will have whatever you want to be done.'

'Okay.' One wave of her hand that the items appeared in front of him.

Loki stared as the last of the blue of her magic fade from the items. 'You have seidr?'

'Yes.'

'I…..there are only a handful of people on Asgard that can do that.'

'I know, I'm one of them.' She smiled.

'I...why don't you magic what you want?'

'Seidr does what I want, but it doesn't feel like it is heartfelt if I just wave my hand and make what I want to appear. I need something that is the work of someone who is talented at such things.' She explained.

'I see.' Loki studied her. 'You respect a craftsman.'

'They work hard to perfect their craft, you need a certain love and ability to do those things,' she looked at a horseshoe that was readied to be shaped for whatever horse needed it. 'Not just anyone can do it, you need something extra to be a true craftsman. They have a gift and ability I do not have, and I can recognise it, I know that I am not able to do everything, something so many cannot accept that and are not ever able to move past it.'

'I cannot do magic.' Loki admitted.

'Yet, like so many, there is an ability for you to do it, you just….never were taught.' She smiled, she looked at him analytically. 'Do you think you can get it done?'

'Yes, of course. When by?'

She made a slight grimace. 'This day week.' He gave her a startled look. 'I know, I left it late, but in my defence, I don't get a chance to leave my home, it's not "proper".' She rolled her eyes. 'Can you….I will pay you accordingly.'

'Magic money or….' She walked over and took the hairpin out of her hair and handed it to him. Loki looked at it. He had not seen too many expensive pieces in his life, but there was no denying it was worth a lot of money. 'What design do you want on them?' She handed him a piece of paper with a design on it. Loki studied it for a moment and cocked his head slightly. 'A hammer?'

'Yes.'

'I don't understand.'

'That is Mjolnir,' she explained. 'A war hammer, forged from a dying star.'

'Really?'

'Yes, it is an incredible weapon.'

'How does a girl like you know about it and I don't?'

'Because you are an Aesir blacksmith's son, not a dwarf weapons forger from Nidavellir and my family are the holders of said war hammer.' She stated. 'Thank you….is there a name for the apprentice son of the blacksmith who is not overly fond of heat?'

'Loki.'

She looked at him for a moment, directly into his eyes as she seemed to dwell on this new information. 'Loki….it suits you.'

'And what did your parents name you?'

'I usually go by "What has she done now?".' She joked. 'Thank you, Loki. If you need more than that, I will bring more when I return.' She gave a small wave, turned and left.

Loki looked at the pieces of metal in front of him, studying them. The owner had a large muscular frame. He sighed. The first image that came to his mind was Prince Thor, strong and powerful. He was the sort of man that a beautiful woman like her would be given to. He looked again at the hairpin and studied it. He could not understand how wealthy someone had to be to not realise they had given him the equivalent to a year's income in most professional Aesir homes. He was still looking at it when he realised someone was talking to him, he turned slightly, shocked to see his father standing in front of him. 'What?'

'I asked if there was a reason there is random armour strewn on the table?' Tomás indicated to the table in front of him.

'Yes, a woman came in, she wants something designed on her sweetheart's armour.' Loki informed him.

'That is nice,' Tomás commented. 'Well, she came to the right place, you are the best I have ever seen at that, my boy.' He clapped Loki's shoulder. 'How come I never see you with any young sweethearts?'

'What….no.' Loki dismissed.

'Not even….what was her name, Astrid, she was nice?'

'I never saw her like that,' Loki informed him.

'Pity. she very much saw you as that.'

'No, thanks.' Loki dismissed.

'Well, do what needs doing here. I have to go to the palace, Prince Thor is heading to Vanaheim for his training this day week, so he needs his horse ready and used to his new shoes before he goes.'

'Sounds like a plan.' Loki stated, looking at the design the girl had requested. 'This will take me time anyway.'

'Work as though she was yours.' His father suggested. 'Give it the same attention you would for someone that means that much to you.'

Loki frowned, 'Yeah, sure.' His father retrieved what he wanted from the workshop before leaving again. Loki looked at the hairpin again. 'I wish.'


	3. Chapter 3

Loki could not believe his luck when his father was called to the palace the following week to deal with a horse before the battalion left for Vanaheim, meaning that the girl would return once more and he would be the one to deal with her.

He got very little done as he waited for her return as he found concentrating too difficult, but knowing his father would expect some difference to indicate some form of labour, he tidied instead. He paid little attention to what he was doing, so much so, that he swept one section of the floor a few times and never even noticed.

'Hello?' Hearing her voice made his stomach flip, he turned to see her looking curiously into the forge. 'Hi.' her face lit up on seeing him. 'I was hoping you would be here.' His brow raised at that, yet she did not apologise or retract her statement in any way. 'Was he able too….?'

'Yes, my father made both sets for you and we had the design you wanted added.' He explained.

'Both? That….wow.'

'Please, it was nothing.'

She walked over to where he indicated for her to come and showed her the pieces. She inspected them closely. 'Mjolnir is perfect.'

'Yes, the design was detailed, so it was time-consuming but that made it easier to know how it had to be.' He explained.

She studied him with more interest than she did the work, causing Loki to feel somewhat uncomfortable. He looked down to see notice she had incredibly blue eyes bearing into his very being. 'You did this, didn't you?' She pointed to the armour.

Loki was always skilled at diverting attention or fibbing in a way that made others believe him immediately, but one look at her told him there was no chance she would be dissuaded. 'I…'

'That's a yes.' she looked to the engraving again. 'You are incredibly talented, Loki.' She smiled kindly.

'Thank you. I hope your partner will enjoy his new armour.'

The girl laughed. 'Of all the men in Asgard, he cannot be my partner, nor would I want him to be.' Loki cocked his head slightly. 'It's for my brother.' She explained.

'Oh.' Loki could not help his eyes giving away his emotions on that.

'Yes, much to my mother's chagrin, I have yet to be wowed by any of the idiots that are supposed to be wooing me.'

'The joys of upper-class life.'

'I hate it.' She admitted.

'But you have everything.'

She let out a small huff of a scoff. '"Everything". What do you think that is?'

'Jewels, finery, you can eat whatever you want, do whatever you like.'

The girl shook her head. 'I had to make a copy of myself to leave my home to come here and get something for my brother. I may have jewels and expensive clothes, yes, but I do not see my father from one end of the week to the next, my brother is his shining joy, while I am merely just a daughter, I am expected to always be perfect and I never get to do what I would like. I wanted to do more with my life but I am not allowed, my duty is to marry well and guarantee my husband a son, does that sound good to you?' There was no denying the sadness and bitterness in her eyes as she spoke.

'It sounds like the definition of Hel to me. Not being able to choose.'

'So, Loki, the heat disliking blacksmith's apprentice, what would you rather do?'

'I rather not deal with the melting and moulding, but I do love etching the designs, as it stands, my father does one, I do the other, so I get to spend my time doing what I love with my father.'

'You're lucky Loki, I envy that.' She smiled. 'Did you have enough, do I owe you more?'

'You have no idea what you even paid, do you?' Loki chuckled. 'You don't need to give money to me, quite the opposite, I owe you, a small fortune in fact.'

'Really?'

'That was 24-carat gold and expensive jewels, trust me, I do.'

She looked at him analytically once more. 'Keep it. Get whatever you need to help you master your craft.'

'Miss, I cannot…'

'Please, Asgard deserves the finest, you are so incredible.' She pointed to the sheer detail in the work. 'Better than I could ever have wanted. My brother will love it.'

'Are you close?'

'Not really, we are very different, and my father sees him as his heir in every way, and he actually believes his and his friends hype about himself. But he is still my brother, I remember when I was small, he used to steal half of the meat on my plate, but he used to give me his dessert since we had to eat both, but he never had a sweet tooth. It was a fair trade I suppose.'

The fond smile on her face told Loki that she thought well of her brother, even if they were no longer close. 'You're a very caring person.'

'My mother said before I was loyal to the point of it being a fault.'

'Do you not agree?'

'I am here instead of where I am supposed to be.' She shrugged. 'Even after being told before never to go out unaccompanied.'

'Well, there is a difference between disobeying your parents for the sake of it and doing so because they are being overly…'

'Overbearing, the word is very much overbearing.' She stated.

'Well, I did not want to overstep in any way.' Loki commented. 'How will you carry his old and new….?' With a simple wave of her hand, the girl had somehow blue glow around the armour before it fizzled away. 'I….where has that gone?'

'My brother's bedchambers.'

'Do you not want to be there to see his reaction?'

'I will see it, sooner or later.' She smiled, though Loki suspected there was something more to her smile than she was letting on. 'Thank you and your father for your incredible work, I had hoped to meet your father too and thank him for his work, is he here?'

'He is on a job at the palace at present.'

'I see, I am sorry to miss him again. Thank you, Loki, I better not waste any more of your time.'

'Not at all, you are wonderful to speak to, far better than sweating and ignorant men that come in here.'

'My brother prefers the sweaty ignorant men, men are almost as different as us women.'

'Almost? I think you will find we are as contrasting as you are.'

'Perhaps.' She smiled, taking a moment to look at his tunic. 'Green is your colour.'

'As blue is yours, it would seem.'

'I hope to meet you again soon, Loki.'

'May I please ask your name?'

'I….can't.'

'Can I ask why?'

'I...I can't explain.' She stated apologetically. 'I better leave you to get back to your work.'

'It's fine, I was only cleaning anyway.'

She looked around at the cluttered room and waved her hand. Immediately, everything that was rubbish was discarded in the bin, and all the tools and metal returned to their proper places and the dust magicked away off the floor. 'There, I hope that helps.'

'I...Please don't ever leave.' He pleaded, looking at the now tidy forge.

She laughed. 'Well, it will make your life easier.' she looked up at him, noting he was almost as tall as her brother. Seeing he was looking at her in a similar manner as she felt, she leant up and kissed him. Her lips were not long on his when he reciprocated as enthusiastically, and before the pair fully realised it, they were against the wall of the forge, Loki hoisting her up so that their difference in height did not affect them. As they continued their actions lustfully, they began to rub in against one another and pant as they fought between their lust and the need to physically breathe.

The woman used her magic to rid Loki of his tunic, causing him to frown and look at her, noticing she was very much intrigued by his bare chest. He watched as she gave a sly smile and used her magic to do the same to herself. On seeing her in her undergarments alone, one of Loki's hands moved to her chest while the other went to her ass. Before long, both were unable to think past their desire. Loki forced himself to pull back long enough to look her in the eye. 'Do you…?'

'Yes, you?'

'Definitely. Have you…?' She nodded. With the knowledge she knew at least knew what they were about to do, he continued. Loki was not inexperienced, but neither was he very experienced, but he knew what to do, he simply never had been giving the opportunity to get that far. The idea that she knew more was somewhat exciting, though terrifying, he was hoping she did not think him inadequate as she pulled his pants down before he tore her underwear off and line himself up against her, gasping as he felt them joining. She kissed him passionately and gasped at the sensation, urging him on, both of them becoming lost in the moment.


	4. Chapter 4

'There you are.'

Sigyn rolled her eyes as she turned to face her mother. 'Here I am.' She smiled back, though it seemed more of a grimace.

Frigga pursed her lips. 'Be nice, Thor is leaving today, do you know what this means?'

'I might actually spend five minutes in Father's company now?' She asked, Frigga swallowed. 'Thought not.' She turned to continue where she was going. 'I will be where I need to be at whatever time I am required to be there, Mother.'

'Have you spoken to Thor today?'

'Mother, I don't speak to him often on any particular day, he is always with those fools he calls friends that fawn at his every fanciful story.'

'He does not tell fanciful stories.'

'Mother, I was there for half of these events, he lies. I am sorry to be the bearer of that news.' She laughed, almost beaming.

'What has you in such a mood?' Frigga asked curiously.

'I am having a good day,' Sigyn shrugged.

'What is his name?'

'Do you know, Mother, a woman does not require a man to have a good day?'

'I am aware, but I am hoping that it is a man entering your attentions and not your brother leaving that has you happy.'

'I may bicker with the witless oaf, but I care deeply for Thor…deep down, really deep down.'

'I have yet to meet a pair to argue as you two do.' Frigga shook her head. 'I do wish you would act as you used. Thor used to aid the nursemaid tend to you, and now you barely even acknowledge one another.'

'We are entirely different beings, Mother. Thor is Father's heir, his golden child, while I…'

'Need to begin acting as though you are a princess and not the court jester.' Sigyn bit the inside of her cheeks and lowered her head slightly as her father entered the hallway and the conversation. 'Are you going to see your brother off like that, you look like you were dragged backwards through the gardens.'

'Wow, Mother, you must have been swept clean off your feet with him.' Sigyn scoffed. She waved her hand and was immediately changed from her somewhat unkempt looking dress and dishevelled hair to having it perfectly pinned up and donning a dress of forest green. 'There, does this please you, Father?' Odin gave no response, signalling to Sigyn that her appearance could not be critiqued.

'Green suits you, Darling.' Frigga noted.

'Yes, I think it might.' Sigyn smiled back, looking at the dress and liking it, though not saying what inspired it.

Odin eyed his daughter carefully for a moment. 'You are uncharacteristically cheerful.'

'I am having a good day, and no, that is not a stab at Thor leaving, I am just having a good day.'

Odin eyed her for another moment and then looked at his wife, who seemed to think the same as he did. 'I am conflicted.'

'About what?' She asked, worried as to what her father was going to say.

'I do not want my barely of age daughter being interested in male suitors, but at the same time….'

'Why do you both assume it to be a man?' She dismissed, but the thought of her actions not fifteen minutes before, as she was pinned to the wall of a forge by a lithe, yet strong and handsome blacksmith was to the fore of her mind.

'Just make sure you do not have some man think he can further himself through you.' Odin warned.

'Really? Only one of the past ten women to attempt to get to Thor was not in it for political advancement and I did not hear you warn him in such a manner.'

'Thor is a man.' Odin stated factually.

'What in the Norns does that mean?' Sigyn was highly insulted by his comment.

'You are more at risk of a bad partner than your brother, I know what men can be like, and I do not want my only daughter stuck wed to a man that hurts her.' Sigyn was startled by that, watching as Odin went off again.

'He is not the most hands-on father, but your father does care about you.' Frigga insisted.

'He would be far more hands-on if I had a pair of testicles though, same as my dear brother.'

'Odin is from a generation where men do not interact with their daughters too much, he just does not know how to.'

'And he thinks he will get better by ignoring me for weeks on end?' Sigyn shook her head.

'Is that why you do what you do, to have him have to spend time with you simply because he is scolding you?' Sigyn did not respond to her mother. 'Darling, acting up is not going to bring you closer together.'

'I need to say goodbye to Thor, I got him something so I want to see what he thinks.' Sigyn rushed off, not wanting to continue the conversation with her mother any longer for one, but also she could feel the blacksmith's essence begin to seep from her, and with her underwear torn to shreds and in the young blacksmith's pocket, she was all too aware of the sensation as the, colder than usual, release began to trickle down her thigh.

'That's nice.' Frigga gave a small smile assuming that Sigyn was lying, but not wanting to cause her daughter to be distant with her.

'Yes, I bet he won't even realise it was me that gave it.' She commented as she left, leading Frigga to realise her daughter had actually gotten something for her brother.

'Do you know who gave it to you?' Sigyn heard Fandral before she ever saw her brother or his band of merry fools.

'No idea, probably Lorelei, she would do something like this. It suits.' Thor commented.

'Could be your mother.' Sif suggested.

'No, she already gave me her father's cloak, it is magically protected after all.'

'Well whoever it was, they clearly have interest in you,' Volstagg added. 'Sif, you have competition.'

'Oh, shut it.' The warrior woman warned. 'Whoever had it made went to great effort, it cannot be some simple woman trying to win your favour.'

'Oh, Sif is getting jealous.' Fandral teased, from a safe distance. 'Honestly Sif, you women are so obvious sometimes, so easy to see through….AH!'

'Well, Sigyn more than others, what with her seidr.' Sif scoffed as she laughed at Fandral's expense, the warrior having been startled by Sigyn's sudden appearance in front of them.

'That was foolish of you Sigyn, we could have hurt you.' Thor chastised.

'Oh please, even without my seidr I would be at little risk, with it, I would be in none at all. So what has some woman done now to attempt to be the next one left disappointed by you in bed, honestly, I am sick of hearing about the lack of size you have in court, it turns me right off my meal.'

Thor's friends all laughed at the joke his sister made at his expense, though Thor did not see the funny side of it. 'Had you been born my brother…..'

'I would have Father reconsidering who would take his beloved throne, since then he would realise that of the two of us, I am clearly the better choice, but alas, I was born to be your sister.' Sigyn sighed.

'Leave us a moment.' Thor requested, the warriors doing as he wanted.

'So, I take it you like them?'

'Like what?' Thor asked curiously.

'The pauldrons and gauntlets, you are wearing them, so I assume you like them.' Sigyn indicated to the metal armour he was donning that she had made for him.

'You know who gave these to me?' Thor realised. 'Who was she?'

'Who….it was me, you witless oaf.' Sigyn was both startled and insulted by her brother's stupidity. 'I had them made for you.'

'You….you did this? Why?'

'Because I wanted to give you a gift for your leaving, I thought you would like them.'

'But you hate me.'

'I do not hate you Thor, you stupid fool. You are my brother, and as much as I want to turn you into a frog…..again, I do love you.'

Thor stood staring at her, processing her declaration. 'I….well, I did think it fun.'

'It was the best prank I ever pulled.'

'I never understood how you, a girl, would be so….'

'Ingenius?' Sigyn beamed proudly.

'Troublesome was the word I was looking for.' Thor growled. 'And stop making those comments in front of everyone.'

'I have to listen to the ladies of court as they discuss which one of them you did this time, trust me when I say, I don't want to know what you are doing in your spare time, thankfully I mute them before they get into specifics, but just to inform you, you are not leaving them with their world's rocked from what I do hear.'

'You would not understand.' Thor explained.

'Thor, this may shock you, but I am going to let you in on a not so little secret. Women like sex, when done right, we love it, probably more than you men do, and as such, I do actually understand the want of getting a good seeing to in bed, but seeing as you think I do not understand, it tells you my excursions are not being discussed in court, something you could take note of.'

Thor's mouth fell open at her comments. 'So you….you are not a….?'

'I am fairly sure I have not been one for longer than you haven't been, only I am discreet and careful, not like you.'

'I….I do not know what to do with this information.' Thor admitted.

'I can assure you, I couldn't care less what you do with it.' Sigyn looked at the design she had requested be put on it and smiled. 'He did a great job.'

'Where did you have this done?'

'The blacksmith we use here at the palace.'

'Tomás and his son, wait, what's his name, Liko? Limo, no, Loki, that's it, Loki. He is not as good a blacksmith as Tomás, he is better at designs though.' Thor stated, looking at the etched metal.

'Yes, well, I wouldn't know who they are, I had someone go order it for me, but they are talented.' She found it was difficult to act as though she was unaware of the man that, without contest was by far her most passionate of partners to date. She gave Thor her polite princess smile and bowed slightly as she turned to leave. 'Don't be too arrogant while you're gone and don't insult the Vanir royals again, I think Father had to promise them ore to stop them going to war with us after you insulted Princess Diane.'

I didn't mean to.'

'You likened her to a bulldog.'

'In manner, not in appearance.'

'Well, good, the poor bulldog at least has some semblance of cuteness to its appearance, but King Frederick was still not pleased.'

'I promise not to have them wage war on us, so long as you don't have court collapse with another one of your pranks.'

'It is not my fault that Lord Barwin is scared of cats, I mean, really, who would have thought a fully grown man would shriek like a little child over cats?'

'That as an odd one, I must admit.' Thor acknowledged. 'Just….don't go too far when I am gone.'

'I promise to not spend all my time pranking without you here since we both know when it does not include you, you actually like my pranks.'

Thor once again was forced to admit there was truth in her words. 'Just…' he looked at her and frowned. 'When did you start looking like this?'

'Like what?'

'So…..not a child?'

'Thor, I am nearly nine hundred, I have not been a child for a very long time. You are a hundred years older than me, hence this attempt to give us a break from you for a while. A thousand years is a long time to be dealing with you.' She joked.

Thor looked at her for a moment. 'Sig?' She looked at him, startled to hear the name he called her when they were children. 'Thank you.'

'Enjoy.' She smiled awkwardly. 'Just…..don't go expecting me to hug you, okay?'

'You weren't getting one.' Thor stated quickly.

'Good, so go on, shoo, I have plans that need your sorry ass out of here.'

'I'll miss you too, Baby Sister.'

'Call me that again and I will turn you into a bug.' She threatened.

'I love you too,' Thor chuckled before turning and making his way back to his friends.

Sigyn wanted nothing more than to turn him into some form of a barnyard beast, but as more of Loki's release left her body, she knew she needed to go back to her rooms and deal with it.


	5. Chapter 5

For two months, Loki thought of the incredibly beautiful woman that had been the girl he had lost his virginity to. He had been with other girls before, it was true, but they had never gotten that far, they only managed to get to touch, but she very much had him desperate for her, she had an allure to her that no other girl had ever seemed to have. Part of him assumed it was her unapologetic lust, the other part was convinced it was because she was so unattainable. He was nothing but a quick bit of fun, she was expected to marry well, so she clearly decided to not go quietly into that life, she seemed to have a streak to her that was somewhat untameable, and he liked her all the more for it.

'Loki, what is going on with you this past while, you are like one in another realm?' Tomás commented as he looked at his son.

'Nothing.' Loki dismissed.

'Well, it is clearly something.' His father argued. 'Talk to me.'

'I...It's nothing.'

'Is it a girl?' Loki said nothing as his darting eyes and sudden shift in demeanour answered his father for him. 'I see. What's her name?'

'I honestly don't even know.'

'Well, that's a bad start.' Tomás chuckled. 'Why don't you ask her?'

'I did, twice, she did not give it. She said she couldn't.'

'Odd.' He looked at his son. 'You are hung up on her though.'

'She….she's different.'

'How so?'

'Not quiet and timid, I never realised women could be so….alpha. Does that make sense?'

'Tomás looked at him in confusion. 'Alpha?'

'Yes, she seems like a woman that commands a room, regardless of those in its gender. She seemed like on that will ensure she is obeyed, and will not suffer those that think her weak by virtue of her gender.'

'Loki, I have never met such a woman, none bar the Allmother. She is as you describe.'

'It is not the Allmother.' Loki dismissed. 'I...I just hope I see her again.'

'Well, if you do not want her to not be able to recognise you due to being disfigured by a lack of paying attention, I would suggest that you do not daydream of her when in here.' His father warned.

'Yes, Father.'

'I say this because I love you, son.' Tomás declared.

'You're not too bad yourself, old man.' Tomás gave a playful warning glare as Loki chuckled at him, looking at the man who had always loved him without falter, who never once made Loki feel as though he could want any other to be his parents.

Sigyn continued to stare at the food in front of her, feeling as though to eat it would make her violently ill. She rubbed her face and sighed, trying to figure out why she was completely out of sorts. She could not comprehend why she felt so ill. Annoyed, she rose to her feet and walked to the bathroom. Inside, she looked at herself in the mirror, noting she was pale, she shook her head and dismissed her concerns. As soon as she had decided that, she felt her stomach become queasy and was lucky to get to the toilet in time before she emptied her stomach of its contents. As she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, she realised that she was not feeling ill anymore. With no idea as to how that came to be, she cleaned herself up and went to get ready, only for her stomach to grumble with hunger, confusing her further.

As she ate her dinner, thinking about why she had not been, Sigyn realised her mother was looking at her expecting a response. 'Sorry?'

'I asked are you okay?'

'Yes, fine.' She dismissed.

'So, what do you say?' She turned to look at Odin, confused as to what he was referencing. 'About Fandral? Goodness girl, have you not heard a word we said?'

'I….I was just thinking, I didn't realise you were even talking.' She stated honestly.

Annoyed, Odin gave her a very angry glare as Frigga sighed. 'Your father and I were discussing the matter of you getting married.' Sigyn felt as though she was about to be ill again, and this time, it was nothing to do with whatever was upsetting her stomach. 'And all things considered…'

'No.' She declared, shaking her head. 'Not him.'

'Sigyn…' Her mother began.

'Not. Him. He is horrible, he is so rude and nigh on a scoundrel, no. I can't.'

'Your reputation as an unfeminine trickster has leant you no favours, girl.' Her father growled. 'Here we are, trying to keep you on realm, keep you as close to home as possible and you are spitting it back at us.'

'I am not heir, why is this even something to discuss? I don't want to be married yet, I am not even a thousand. Sort Thor out first.'

'There is little sorting with Thor.' Frigga dismissed. 'He and the Lady Sif are a fine pairing.'

Sigyn kept her opinion on Sif's willingness to ignore any and all of her brother's indiscretions regarding other women was both commendable and worthy of ridicule to herself and said nothing, instead choosing not to go further into that. 'Well, I am not at risk of going barren with age in the next twenty minutes, so please, can we continue searching for a man that at the very least does not throw two women on his lap at a family friendly feast.'

'Most young men are not holier than thou beings, Sigyn.' Her mother warned.

'I don't expect them to be, I really do not. I know there is a good chance of them having partners before me and I am completely okay with that, I truly am, but I do not want a man that I will have to keep an eye on at an event for fear that he will be in a far corner with other women on his lap.'

Odin eyed her carefully, trying to see if she was trying to weasel her way out of something, but she kept his gaze, trying to show him it was true. 'Very well, unless he settles down and no longer acts as such, I can see the reason for your objection.'

'Thank you, Father.' She bowed her head slightly, startled and relieved that Odin seemed to listen to her.

'But if he does, even with past indiscretions…'

'I mean what I said Father, I do not except a man of unobtainable virtue.' Her father nodded. 'I know standards have to be low when dealing with men.'

'I hope for the day you will not be so vitreous, Sigyn.' Odin remarked.

'Norns, I hope it never comes.' She responded with a grin. As her father gave her a warning look, she felt her stomach begin to heave. 'Excuse me.' She rushed off out of the room and had barely made it to a statue before she was ill behind it. A guard watched curiously as she continued to vomit for over a minute before standing straight again, inhaling deeply as she righted herself again. Before the smell of her being sick made it to him, she cleaned it all with a wave of her hand. Turning to go back in to her parents, she paused for a moment as she realised he was looking at her, but as she looked at him, he broke eye contact and continued his duties once more. When she returned to her parents, they looked at her oddly as she sat down and acted as though nothing had happened to warrant her rushing out of the room in such a peculiar manner.


	6. Chapter 6

For two weeks, Sigyn felt ill at random times of the day and night, and for two weeks, she dismissed and ignored it, putting it down to different issues, since she never lost her appetite. It was only when she went to put on her underwear after a shower one day and realised that her breasts were too big for the undergarment she had wore not a week before that she frowned. When she looked at herself in a mirror she realised there was something different about herself, subtle alterations to her being. She had noticed her stomach was more tender, but put that and its slight plumping down to her being sick and the fact she was still not fully matured. Her hips seemed as though they had widened too, but she had read before that that was normal, the body developed for bearing children at different rates and some women had reported such alterations even after their one-thousandth Namesday.

Looking over herself, she felt somewhat unsettled, unsure why all of this was having such a reaction in her, Sigyn turned to get changed when a memory came to her, one that she had all but forgotten, one her mother mentioned many moons ago, that she half thought was a dream; of how after Thor, she prayed not to bear another child, that he had been a bruiser of a baby and the birth was terribly painful and laborious, and when she noticed her body changing to facilitate the growth of another child, she wept, terrified she would be killed carrying another son as big as his brother, or bigger. Sigyn looked down at her body again and dismissed her worries, knowing that her spells never failed her. She had not begun to allow herself be physical with men until she knew she could prevent herself becoming pregnant, to do otherwise would be utterly foolish. She could not understand why her mind even came to that conclusion.

With another week going by and her body continuing to alter, the thoughts and associated fears began to increase for the princess. She stood staring at herself instead of bathing as she was supposed to do, looking at her now even bigger breasts and her stomach. She did not want to admit it, she wanted it to be a bad dream, but it was not. The evidence was indisputable, she was forced to admit to it. She shook as she forced herself to try and say the words, to say them would make it all the more real, but she could not. She was in a terrible situation. She had no idea what to do. She made her seidr glow over her stomach and was left utterly speechless when her blue seidr glowed until it got there, before altering in colour, to what could only be described as a bluish green. She did not need to see the colour to know what it was, the dates of everything matched only one encounter, the blacksmith's son. Of all the men she had been intimate with, the one to get her pregnant, the commoner. It was painfully ironic he would be the one to do it.

She should have known better, she had sensed the magic that encircled him the day she met him. It had intrigued her, and that was the problem, that was what made her want to be around him, and now she was in trouble. Were her parents to realise….she froze and swallowed, Odin would lose his mind, she was certain it would send him into the Odinsleep to end them all. She had disgraced herself and her family. Forcing herself into the bath, she thought of all the spells she knew, she would not be able to just magic it away, she was too powerful, she knew from the fact she had not sensed it being there before that her seidr was protecting her baby, making it that nothing around her, even her parents would not sense the child in her. As she thought frantically, she shook in fear. She had no idea what to do. After a few minutes, she sank into the water, her head and body submerged as she loved to do normally, but when she went to break the surface again, she realised that it was frozen, that there was a layer of ice between her and the air above. Terrified, she blasted it out of the way with her seidr before looking around scared, startled to see it was over an inch thick and the water was freezing cold, but that she did not feel as though she was cold. Scared, she got out of the bath, slipping and falling as she did, but her instincts startled her as she realised she naturally protected her stomach. Getting to her feet, she did not call her maids and instead dressed herself as quickly as she could, and left her quarters.

It was not long before her mother noted the peculiar change in her daughter. Sigyn was almost jumpy and wary of everything. Also, the queen noted her daughter refused to have meals with her parents anymore, instead, she chose to go to her rooms or the library, more so than was usual for the book-loving princess.

Sigyn, for her part, was trying to avoid suspicion. She had repeats of the ice issue almost daily and nothing she researched could explain it. She had no control over it and realised that it only occurred when she was stressed in some manner. She dressed in private, changed by magic and did not allow anyone see her in a state that would reveal her situation. But as time went by, her stomach began to cease looking like she was merely a little bloated and began to reveal its true contents. She calculated herself as having finished the first trimester. The illness was easier to predict and conceal, yet it still was difficult some days as it plagued her. Certain foods set it off, and for whatever reason the Norns decided to taunt her, the kitchens seemed to think it a good idea to give her those foods more often of late. She tried to force down the fish, but honestly, her efforts were in vain, as soon as she smelt it, it turned her stomach.

'Maria?' Her head maid came over to her as Sigyn tried not to be ill. 'Have this taken out, I cannot stand another day of it. Is there a meat shortage on Asgard that I am not aware of, why is it only fish of late, it is anything but delightful to see the same damn thing on my plate day in and day out.' The maid said nothing as she removed her plate. 'Please have someone make me anything that is not fish, please, I am actually quite hungry and would like to actually enjoy a meal, something with...actually, please see if there is any duck available, I have not had that in a time.'

'Of course, your highness.' She bowed and left the room.

Satisfied that she may get a meal not consisting of a food that would turn her stomach, Sigyn decided to try and research more the issue she was having with things turning to ice. When Maria returned a short time later, she had a plate of pate in her hand. Sigyn looked at it and swallowed. 'Is this the only duck in the palace?'

'No, your highness, the duck is being cooked now, this is something to tide you over.'

'Thank you, but I rather wait for the duck.' She dismissed politely, not wanting to reveal her lack of interest in the pureed food for the sake of her growing child.

'But you love it.'

'I know I do, I always have, but it is not what I am craving today, today I very much am looking forward to Berwyn's duck.' Her maids looked at her as though she was acting terribly strange. 'Do you ever get that idea in your head of what you would like to eat, you can see and taste it, and anything else offered seems somewhat unappetising?' She explained. The two other maids smiled and nodded, knowing the sensation well. 'That is my thoughts right now, I am so looking forward to that.' She smiled. 'Please, Maria. Just the duck, thank you.'

The head maid pursed her lips but dutifully took the food away, giving the princess a disapproving look as she did so. When she returned a while later, she had the food Sigyn had requested and left again, leaving the princess to eat her meal, salad and all, something the other maids noted, since Sigyn was not a fan of salads. As soon as it was done, she requested a dessert also, which they went to retrieve.

An hour later, as her maid was about to take her empty plate after her second helping of dessert away when there was a knock on her door. Giving the nod for her maid to open it, Sigyn stood up, not too surprised to see her mother standing there but she was surprised to see the look on her face, telling her something was seriously amiss. 'Is something wrong? Father? Thor?'

'They are fine.' Frigga stated. She turned to the maids. 'Leave us.'

Sigyn watched as her staff left the room, Anja taking her dishes as she left. 'Mother, what is wrong?'

'You have not eaten with us a lot lately. For a woman who said she wanted to get closer to her father, you refuse to eat with him.'

'Well, it was so strained it felt uncomfortable. I like to eat comfortably, that is not news.'

'From what I hear, you eat little or nothing.'

'I eat fine, I have actually just finished a full dinner and two helpings of cake, I think the issue is I am starting to eat too well.' She commented, making a general gesture to herself to imply her shape was due to overeating.

'You sent good food back to the kitchen, for over two weeks straight.'

'Because I keep being given seafood. As I asked earlier, have we a meat shortage around here?'

'No, not that I am aware of.' Her mother responded. 'And the pate?'

'Really, once in my life I decline pate and I am being questioned about it?' Sigyn scoffed. 'Mother, I just felt like duck and was excited to get it, nothing more, I ate every last morsel and enjoyed every bite. I am not starving myself. Look at me.' She indicated to herself.

'No, you do not look like such.' Her mother acknowledged. 'Sigyn,' Her daughter looked at her. 'Are you hiding something from us?'

Though she felt her heart pounding at her mother's words, Sigyn did not let her fear show. 'Such as?'

Frigga studied her daughter's face, waiting for the reaction to her next words. 'That you are pregnant.'

Sigyn's eyes widened, she swallowed harshly as she felt the colour drain from her face. 'Wh…?'

'Do you know how I figured out I was pregnant with Thor? My maids told me. They recognised the changes in me before I ever did. Our maids know every last thing about us, it is terrifying how much they are privy to, and add that to your recent behaviour; your hiding, your being ill frequently, the weight gain, the change in your dimensions in general, your severe dislike for foods you usually are indifferent to, your avoiding the ones you like that you made comment before that should you ever come to bear a child, you would them miss terribly, your craving of other foods, your demeanour and the fact that your seidr is acting in a very peculiar manner. Does that sum up the reason for my asking well enough to you?'

'Mother, you...this is madness.'

'Sigyn, madness is thinking you can continue to hide this. How far along are you?'

'I am not…' Frigga used her seidr to surround her daughter. 'What are you doing?'

'Remove the glamour, Sigyn.'

'No.'

'Please,' her mother implored. 'Do it, or I will.'

Sigyn stared at her mother, trying to get the queen to cease her demand, but she did not relent. When she went to do as she warned, Sigyn inhaled deeply and allowed the glamour she had put on herself to hide her stomach fall. The dress she was wearing was not very shapely, it hid it some bit, but Frigga focused on her enough to notice there was indeed a difference in her daughter's shape.

'What have you done?'

'I think it is fairly obvious, considering.' Sigyn snarled.

'How…?'

'Well, if after two children you are asking that, you are very naive, Mother.'

'You….who is he?' Sigyn said nothing. 'You have to tell me.'

'No, I don't.'

'Sigyn, you cannot possibly hide this any longer, you have to tell me who he is.'

'Why, to force me into a marriage with him? Not going to happen.'

'You cannot have a child outside of marriage.'

'I think you will find that I very much can, it is here, in front of you. I did not require a marriage to make it.' Sigyn turned to walk away from her mother. 'Me not being wed will not stop it being born either. The presence or absence of a father outside the birthing room makes no difference to proceedings. It will still come out.'

'You are a princess, you cannot possibly be an unwed mother.'

'I already am such.'

'So, what was the plan? Tell me. Regale me how you were going to keep this from us. Were you just going to birth it and pretend you never knew, did you intend to just discard it in your bed linen, what had you planned, Sigyn?' She said nothing. 'Who is he? You cannot think you can just continue like this, it has gone on too long for people not to know, but you need to do what is right. Do not make another bad decision.'

'My only bad decision is regarding a matter I will deal with as soon as this conversation is over.' She growled.

'Sigyn, your father…'

'My father would not notice if I was butchered in front of him.' Sigyn snapped.

'Enough!' Sigyn felt as though she should flee for her life as her father entered her rooms. 'Well?'

'It's true.' Frigga confirmed sadly.


	7. Chapter 7

The look on Odin's face told Sigyn that every plan she had to strengthen a bond between herself and her father, it was utterly obliterated at that moment; Odin looked at her as though she was nothing more that horse faeces on Gungnir. 'The father?'

'She won't say.'

'Sigyn.' Her father was not asking her, he was telling her, in no uncertain terms, to reveal a name to them. She remained silent. 'I will find out.' again she said nothing. 'You will not save him this way. You have two choices, tell me now, and we fix this mess or say nothing, and when I do find out, he will suffer, as will you, for your choice.'

'He is nothing to do with this.'

'He is everything to do with this.' Odin bellowed. 'You did not get to be like this by yourself, he is even more culpable than you are. He no doubt used you to gain position, I warned you of this.'

'He did not use me and I can assure you, I very much was a consenting partner in it.'

'You foolish girl, of course, he used you. This is why you are supposed to use your head and not let just any man who says nice things to you into your chambers.' Odin's face was red with anger and behind him, Frigga looked almost angry and upset. 'Get her maids back in her, I want names.'

The women were brought back in and the demand given that any and all men to visit Sigyn's rooms were to be given immediately, but to the shock of the Allfather and Allmother alike, all gave the same answer, none. Odin and Frigga then looked to their daughter again, the pair angered and frustrated by her lack of information.

'You are only making this worse than it needs to be.' Her mother insisted.

'You cannot loathe him to say you declare you did what you did with him willingly. Surely you would not have done this unless you in some way liked him, it would be worst to be badly wed.' Odin tried to rationalise with her.

Part of Sigyn would love to tell her father part of the truth, that the father was a commoner, to see him backtrack his comments then, as she knew he would, but she could not risk them finding out anything about the handsome blacksmith's son, so she said nothing of it. 'I cannot, I'm sorry,' was all she said on the matter.

Realising that their daughter was not going to relinquish any details, the monarchs looked to one another. 'Very well.' Odin growled. 'You were given your chance to tell us, never say I did not give you that.' He stated in a calm voice, which scared Sigyn more than any time he had yelled at her. 'I will find him, and he will suffer for this, you do know that.'

'He has no idea of any of this.' Sigyn insisted.

'Well, he still went and broke etiquette by laying with you.' Her father shrugged. 'He knew well who you are.'

Sigyn bit her lips together. If she was honest, she was not sure if he had known who she was. 'I initiated it.'

Her parents face told her that that only disappointed them more, but it was true, she had been the one to kiss him first, she had consented when he asked, he never forced her. 'That only makes this worse.' Frigga sighed, her tone as defeated as her husband's.

'You are confined to your rooms, you will have a healer sent to tend to you as required, but you are not to leave them outside of an emergency. You will have no luxuries and when we find the father, further actions will be taken.' He promised.

'And if you don't?'

'I am Odin Allfather, King of Asgard, I will find him.' Her father declared. 'And if he is not found before that is born.' He pointed to her stomach. 'Well, that is not something you are going to be pleased with.' He turned to leave. 'I never thought...in all the time you acted foolishly, I thought you would outgrow it, I thought you would mature, become the princess you are so capable of being, but this, I never thought you would do something like this, do you really hate me that much?'

'I did not do this to spite you, contrary to your beliefs, I had not planned this. I had been careful, I do not know how this happened. I have spent weeks trying to understand how the spell did not work. Contrary to your belief, I did not want to be a mother this young. I did not do this to spite you.'

'And yet here we are.' Odin shook his head and left.

After he had exited, Sigyn looked at her mother who remained where she stood, though not looking at her daughter. 'I speak the truth, I do not know how the spell did not work.'

'How can I believe you? Her mother asked, finally returning her gaze to her daughter once more. 'You will not confide in me.'

'I can't.'

'Then I cannot help you.' Her mother stated, turning and leaving the room.

Sigyn took a few minutes to contemplate what her parents had said. She knew her father meant it when he said he would search for the father, she knew that, were he to be found, she would get whiplash from the speed she would be forced to wed him at, but she also knew that they would scour every lord's son and man of high standing, not even suspecting male members of the palace staff, much less lower class men of the city, so she knew Loki was safe. She felt incredible guilt for having him at risk of her father's anger when the man never even knew who she was. She had never revealed her identity and he clearly did not know what she looked like, so she knew that to him, he merely was intimate with an upper-class girl, not the daughter of the Allfather, and now she carried his child. She wondered if she was the only woman he had gotten in such a predicament, considering he had been in some way able to thwart her spells. Part of her wondered had he done so intentionally, but considering his shock at her tidying his workshop so easily, she suspected he was not able to channel the magic that he possessed.

When she ceased to think in her head, she realised her maids were back in her room. She looked at each one individually, the youngest looked at her shocked, not knowing what to say or think, her two other maids, Anja and Emma gave her looks she assumed to be pity, but Maria stood looking at her, disgust in her features. 'Do you know what means a lot to me?' She asked the four women. 'My mother always said I put loyalty above all other virtues, loyalty, allegiance, the ability or attribute that you will remain with those you care for.' she stated, looking at each of them. 'Maids are expected to be loyal, to act as though they care for those they aid tend. In the House of Odin, loyalty has always been rewarded.' She paused in front of Maria. 'And treachery has always been punished.' She stood toe to toe with the maid. 'Why did you do it?'

'I…?'

'You had the fish sent to my rooms because you knew I felt ill with it, brought the pate you knew I could not eat and you are the one to betray me, not out of loyalty to my parents, but for other reasons, so why?'

'It is a disgrace.'

'My condition is nothing short of basic biology. We think ourselves so advanced, but we are as basic as every other creature. An egg and a sperm, they join together, they create a being, it grows in its mother, it is born and thus, grows and repeats the cycle. I merely made a miscalculation somewhere, I erred, as you have erred.'

'I did nothing wrong.'

'You betrayed me.' Sigyn corrected. 'I despise backstabbers, I hate snakes. I like to think myself a snake hunter, I seek them out and reveal them, as I now reveal you, Maria. You can never be trusted again, and I know it kills you that you could not give my father a name for my child's father, but you will never know, no one will. Besides, no one will listen to you, no one listens to snakes.' With her seidr she sneered and caused a light to glow around the maid before she began to alter in appearance until she was no more than a pile of clothes, a moment after, a small brown snake slid from the garments, which she magicked away. 'Does anyone else wish to confess to anything?' She looked to the three other maids, who all shook their heads fearfully. 'Good, now; if you will excuse me.' She went to her bedroom and walked over to the bed, getting in as she held her stomach, wondering what to do, now that her parents were involved.

Loki watched as the royal guards walked through the street, a tenseness surrounding them. He had no idea what was afoot, but he and the other people could tell, it was not good. He and Tomás looked at one another as they saw a young well-dressed man that Tomás informed him was the son of a noble being dragged from the house of a seamstress that both knew to be sleeping with half of her clientele. They watched as he was brought away, wondering what it was that the guards were looking for, since others remained to scour after the man was taken.

'Young nobles have no reason to be here with us for any reason outside of business. It is suspicious they would come around here, much less be seen to mingle with us in that manner.' Tomás commented as he went back to hammering a horse shoe.

Loki said nothing to his father in response as he thought of the beautiful noble girl that had seen fit to kiss him before they went farther than would ever be seen as acceptable. It still kept him up at night, thinking about her, he felt himself swallow hard as the harsh reality that she would more than likely never return repeated itself to him time and again as he thought of her.


	8. Chapter 8

Sigyn groaned as she turned over in the bed. Her back was aching and she wanted to walk around, but she was getting dizzy from her apartments, they were spacious to sleep and read in, they were not so spacious to be cooped up in.

She looked around when she heard a knock on her bedchambers door. Anja entered. 'The Allmother is here to see you.'

'I am not in the mood for company.' She replied.

'I am not overly in the mood for this either, yet here we are.' Frigga stated coldly as she walked in the door. 'Norns, look at you.'

'Well, I am not able to leave or receive people, so why bother getting into clothes that are too tight and that irritates my skin?'

'You honestly think you would be seeing anyone, as you are?' Her mother asked, her tone incredulous.

'No, hence my state of dress.' Sigyn commented, trying to get comfortable again. When her mother magicked the blanket away her daughter turned and glared at her. 'Do you mind?'

'I mind a great deal.' She replied shortly, tears coming to her eyes as she watched her young daughter rising from the bed, her stomach obvious now. 'This was supposed to be something we would celebrate.' Sigyn looked at her mother to see what she was implying, noting she was looking at her stomach. 'You are far too young.'

'To say I am pregnant, I am an age this is supposed to happen at. I am bleeding for over two hundred years.' She replied, looking around for some shoes.

'What did the healer say?'

'I have not seen one.'

'What?'

'I think you forget Mother, if I cannot leave my room, I cannot go to a healer, can I?' Her mother had forgotten that. 'So no, I have not seen one.'

'I will have one sent immediately.' Frigga sent a copy of herself to retrieve one. She watched as her daughter magicked herself tidy and into a clean nightdress. 'You are growing too fast.'

'I am not growing, it is.' Sigyn corrected, looking down at her stomach with a look of concern.

'Please Sigyn, just tell us who he is.' Frigga begged.

'I can't.' She went to touch her stomach where her child's seidr was fluttering under the skin, but she stopped herself last moment. 'You cannot understand and I know you cannot when I do not tell you, but I cannot tell you.'

'Your father is scouring the realm for him. Thus far, he has found four men that all have admitted to….relations with you, but none in a timeframe that would suggest them the father.'

Sigyn calculated in her head for a moment. 'I would estimate another three to add to that list.' She responded.

'In my day, a woman did not lay with a man outside of marriage.'

'Yes, they did Mother, do not be foolish.'

'Men tend to be scoundrels, but women….'

'If men were having relations before marriage, who were they having them with?' She challenged. 'The answer is women, they were fooling around with women, women they were not married to, so by that fact alone, yes, women are capable of that too.'

Frigga could not argue that. 'Your brother….'

'Are you asking something or about to state something?'

'Has he….?'

'I have in total eight partners, Thor boasts double figures and not in the teens,' She confessed, causing Frigga to shake her head. 'So are we going to force him to marry whichever girl he gets pregnant?'

'If she existed, there would indeed be similar proceedings to this.'

'Only Thor would not be locked away like some dirty secret.'

'Neither would you if the man who did this to you was here. Please Darling, please let me help you.'

Sigyn was about to answer again that she could not say when the door to the room opened, her maid informing her that the healers had arrived. 'Healers?'

'Yes, Eir is training two new girls.' Sigyn looked at the two women that entered with Eir, her envy barely hidden. Her mother looked at her sadly, having known how badly Sigyn had taken her father's order that she was not allowed be a healer, it was after that that she became so rebellious. 'Eir…'

'I can see well what the issue is.' The healer stated as she walked forward. 'How far along are we talking?' Sigyn said nothing but looked at her mother. 'Allmother, could you please excuse us for a few minutes. I cannot provide proper care if my patient will not talk and I suspect, all things considered, she will not talk while you are present.'

Frigga looked at her daughter, hurt by her continued lack of trust. 'I can name the day exactly, look me in the eye and tell me you would not rush to father with it.' Frigga said nothing and left the room, as soon as she left, Sigyn cast a spell to ensure her mother could not listen. 'The day my brother left for Vanaheim, that day is the day this happened.' She stated to the healer.

Eir nodded and calculated before looking at her stomach again. 'You are big for that date, but if you are certain...'

'I am, there is no other possible time.'

'Well, most women cannot be so accurate, we are fortunate then that we have this much.' She ushered the princess back to the bed. 'Lie down and let me see what we are dealing with.'

Sigyn did as instructed and watched as Eir checked her over, explaining to her students what she was doing and why, Sigyn swallowing her hurt and envy at the fortune they had to be able to study under her. All throughout the situation, she remembered the conversation with Loki, how he looked at her sadly when he realised that she was not able to do what she truly wanted, he seemed to be the only one to understand her feelings in it, when he was not even aware as to who she was.

'Well?' Frigga turned to see her husband behind her. 'Anything?'

'No, I think I was beginning to break through when Eir arrived. She would not reveal the date of its conception to Eir with me present, I was made leave, she has a spell cast to ensure there is no interruption.'

'So she has a specific date, that is something, I found another boy, but apparently, he cannot be the father either. Norns I did not realise we were raising such a harlot.'

'She claims Thor is worse.'

'Thor cannot become pregnant.'

'He can get someone pregnant though.'

'That is not the same.'

Frigga swallowed slightly. 'Do you think this would all have been avoided if we let her do as she wished?'

'If I was in possession of the Time Stone, I would already have altered it so she would have been a healer.' Frigga looked at her husband shocked. 'I spent more time thinking about how that would have saved us from this shame. Had I known then, that my foolishness of stating that was her shaming us would have saved us all this….but the past is past, we cannot dwell on it.'

Frigga heard someone moving inside, she said nothing more as the door opened and the trainee healer stepped aside to let her in, startled when she realised Odin was there too. They walked in to see Eir standing by Sigyn, who was sitting down as though processing something. 'Is she…?'

'The princess is fine.' The healer declared. 'Her body is adapting to what is required of it perfectly and her seidr is protecting everyone very well, too well in some manners. I cannot get some readings as her seidr is seeing it as invasive and is not allowing it.' She gave Sigyn a small glare, though she smiled slightly which the princess gave a small smile back to. 'But there is something. As you can see, for someone due to birth in the late Spring, the princess looks set to birth in the Winter, she is carrying two children, not one.'

Frigga sighed as Odin looked at his daughter with exasperation. 'Of course, she is. One would not be enough of an issue by itself.' He growled.

'The princess requires good rest, good food and light exercise to keep her able to carry as she is and her stresses should be minimised.' The two monarchs stared at her incredulously. Eir turned to her apprentices. 'Leave us a moment.' They did as required. 'You are all aware that I and my aides cannot divulge anything to others of what we see with our patients, the princess and her condition included. As there was no wedding and there is no man present to declare himself the father, I am all too aware of the situation, the princess herself has told me a substantial amount of the story, which before you ask, plead or threaten, I cannot divulge, nor can my girls. Twins are all but unheard of on Asgard, but they are documented. They require a substantial amount of tending to in the womb and the princess being as young as she is is not aiding things, but neither is pressuring her in other manners. She needs to be able to carry them safely. Her body is primed to protect them at all costs, her seidr seems to understand they are her children and all of this puts the princess at great risk should anyone consider harming the infants. I am also aware of the situation regarding her being unwed and young from your point of view, but so too am I aware that should she be under too much pressure, it could cost not only her children's' lives but her own. This is not ideal, I know, but surely that matters less than their wellbeing.' Her parents said nothing in return, not filling Sigyn with much confidence that they would listen. 'I will be back this day week to check on you again. We will keep up with their development best that way. Usually, I say every two weeks, but with two, it is different. If you feel any form of distress, contact me immediately, understood?' Sigyn nodded. 'Good.' Eir left, leaving Sigyn alone with her parents, unable to look at them.

'Sigyn, please, end this madness now.' Frigga begged. 'You need to see this cannot continue, you cannot think to do this any longer in this manner, we can say you have been ill with the pregnancy, that it has been trying on you and that is why you could not be public, people will understand, we can save this.'

Sigyn bit her lips together and shook her head slightly as tears came to her eyes. 'I can't.'

'Why not, what is it about him that you cannot reveal to us?' Frigga walked towards her daughter, trying to have her reveal anything that could have her understand Sigyn's fear of telling them who the father was. 'Is he married?'

Sigyn's face went from one of apology to one of disgust. 'I would never touch a married man, how could you say that?'

'Well, it is nice to see you have some morals.' Odin commented snidely. 'So he is not wed, what is the issue?'

'I just can't.' She stated. 'I'm sorry.'

Odin grabbed hold of her arms. 'You have made enough mistakes, end them now, you can still fix this and end this madness. For goodness sake, grow up.'

Scared by her father's behaviour, Sigyn went to pull away from him, but could not get out of his grip. A moment later, he yelled in pain. Sigyn looked at him in terror to see what happened, seeing as she felt no surge in her seidr. Her eyes widened as she realised both of his hands were severely frost burnt. 'Not again.'

'Again?' Her mother asked.

'I don't know why I keep doing that.' She admitted. 'I don't control it.' Frigga ushered her husband to the door to get him dealt with. 'I'm sorry.' She stated as she watched them leave, truly remorseful for something she could not control.

Odin sat, his hands in warm liquid to aid them to recover from the frostbite. 'Will Eir give you nothing?' He asked as his wife paced, trying to think.

'All she said was Sigyn used a spell to make her body too hostile to allow conception as a form of preventing it.' His wife explained. 'Genius really.'

'Clearly not, since we now have to deal with not one but two children and our daughter causing frostbite.'

'She did not mean it.'

'I know that, yet here I am, as though I am back on Jotunheim fighting those blasted…' Odin's face changed.

'Odin?'

'No.'

'No what?'

He looked at his wife, his face one of shock. 'I know who the father is.'


	9. Chapter 9

Sigyn felt as though her heart was at risk of stopping. She had used her seidr to eavesdrop on her parents to check that she had not badly injured her father, but she knew in her heart as soon as she saw his face and declared he knew who the father was, that he was certain. She had to think and find a way to warn Loki. He had no idea of the trouble he was in for something he knew nothing about. She rushed around her room and grabbed what she needed before she walked out to her balcony. She had tested how far she could try her seidr, as well as how much freedom her parents had given her, and knew what she needed to do. She looked at her balcony, as well as Thor's beside her and walked over to the edge. It was too far down to risk making a jump and she knew her father had a shield placed around it to prevent her doing something about it. But she also knew he had only a magic barrier between her and Thor's balconies, not a physical one. She placed her hands on the railing and concentrated on what she needed to do. She focused all her energy and visualised what she needed, the same as when she used to practice her seidr. Though it took a few tries, she was able to get an ice bridge to form from her balcony to Thors. She focused on strengthening it enough to carry her. When it was, she took off her shoes and gently stood on it. Her foot did not even register the cold as she slowly and carefully made her way between the two balconies before getting to the other side. She felt herself go through the invisible barrier her father had placed on her room and immediately altered her clothes to ones fit for travel as well as adding a glamour to prevent any from seeing her stomach and went through Thor's room and out into the hallways, rushing through the palace.

It was a lot harder to act normal and walk as though she was not carrying two small Aesir in her than she thought it would be as she tried to ensure she would get to Loki before her father. She knew that she had to be swift, her father needed his location, she already had it, but she did not know how long it would take for him to find it. She rushed to the stables and ordered her horse readied. She watched as the confused stablehand did as requested, getting her horse's tack and rushing to his stall. While he did that, she heard another man speak with the stable master, informing him that the Allfather wished for his horse to be tacked. Realising that Odin was going for Loki himself, she rushed into the tack room and found Sleipnir's tack, freezing it to prevent it being accessible. On hearing her horse's hooves coming through the stable, she rushed out to meet the stable hand and took him, barely thanking him before she jumped onto him and rode off.

She trotted through the streets, ordering people out of her way as she made her way through them and into the smaller craft shop area of the town, on her arrival there, she forced herself to remember where it was that the blacksmith's forge was. The smell from the tannery and the noises from different places disorientated her slightly but concentrating she made her way through it all and found what she was looking for.

Loki heard the horse outside the forge before the door opened. He assumed it would be someone who had a shoe come loose while in the town, so he wiped the sweat from his brow and went to see how he could help them. He had not made it to the door when it burst open, causing him to be startled by who was standing there looking at him. 'Hi.'

'Oh, thank the Norns. You have to come with me, now.' He stared at the woman blankly, not moving. 'Please, you have to come with me now.'

'Why?'

'Because my father is on his way here and you cannot be here when he gets here.'

'Why?'

'I will explain soon, I swear, but I need you to please come with me now, I am trying to help you.'

'Help me? What have I done to need help?'

'I cannot explain it all now.' She insisted, trying to pull him after her. 'Please.' There were tears in her eyes as she begged, telling him this was no hoax or laughing matter.

'Are my parents going to be okay?'

'Yes, this is nothing to do with them, this is just about you and me.'

'So you told him about what we did, or he found out?'

'I said nothing, I have been locked in my room for two months because I would not tell them who you are.' She explained.

'Who in the realms are you?' Loki asked, worried as to what he had been brought into. 'Please, tell me what is going on.'

She inhaled deeply and removed her robe she had been using to shield her body, in doing so, she also removed the glamour she put on herself, revealing her condition to him. 'I did not plan this, I swear, I...I never thought that it would happen, but it did, and I did not tell him who you are and I did not want to bring you into this, but he found out and now he is coming and he is very angry and I need you to come with me until he calms.' She explained.

Loki could not hear half of what she was saying as he stared at her stomach. 'You…?'

'I know you are probably trying to process this, but now is not the time, please. My father is coming and he is angry.'

'Who is he?'

She looked at him startled. 'You really have no idea who I am, do you?' Loki shook his head.

'Loki?'

The sound of a man's voice calling out Loki's name caused the girl to jump. 'It's my father.' He explained before he shouted back. 'I am in here.'

'Why is Princess Sigyn's horse here?'

Loki stared at the woman again. 'You….you're…?'

'Yes.'

So your father is…'

'Odin Allfather, the King of Asgard.' She confirmed. 'And that is why we have to go.'

'Loki?' The pair looked at the older man as he entered. 'Your Highness.' He bowed to her.

'Please don't. The last thing you should want to do is bow to me, you should want me dead.' She stated.

'I…?' Tomás did not know what to say to her something so peculiar.

'Father, I did something, something I should not have, and I need to take responsibility for it.' Loki stood forward and spoke to his father.

'Whatever it is son, we can deal with it. Talk to me.'

'The girl to come in, looking for armour a few months back.'

'Yes.'

'It was Princess Sigyn, she wanted it for Prince Thor.'

'For his leaving for Vanaheim?' He guessed.

'Yes.' She confirmed.

'Alright, I am with you so far.'

'I...She and I…' Loki did not know how to even say it.

'What? Loki please, talk to me.' Tomás was worried, Loki had always been honest with him.

'I...I'm sorry Father.'

'Loki, what…' He looked to the princess and to her stomach. 'What?'

'It was my doing, not Loki's. I initiated it and he was not aware of who I was.' Sigyn stated immediately. 'Your son is not at fault. But my father is not the least bit pleased, and he has somehow managed to figure out that Loki is the father and after my refusing to tell them for two months, my father is enraged and for his safety, until my father calms, I need Loki to come with me.'

'Loki.' Tomás looked at his son. 'You...you are too young.' He shook his head, looking at the pair. 'I...I warned you of being careful.'

'I know.' Loki hung his head shamefully.

'How did the Allfather ascertain it was Loki?'

'I don't know. I didn't tell him anything. But when he grabbed me earlier, I did this thing where I hurt him accidentally with ice and somehow he was able to…'Sigyn's words ceased when she realised the man had understood something she didn't. 'So he is now on his way, and I am really worried for…..' She watched as the man grabbed his son and walked to the door.

'Go.'

'Father?'

'You need to go, both of you, and you need to hide.' He insisted.

'What?'

'You need to go with the princess, right now.' His father stated.

'Why?'

'The answer to that I cannot explain fully now. Go into the house and get the letter that is behind your picture on the shelf, you know the one. Take it with you, go now.' His father ordered.

Loki was about to question him further when he saw Sigyn to his side, stumble backwards as though struck by something. 'Are you….?'

'He is coming, we need to leave.' She stated. Tomás looked at her as she looked to the ground. 'I am so sorry for the mess I have dragged him into, Loki, you, your family.' she stated. 'My father will calm, but his anger until then is not something any should want to suffer.' She magicked some of her jewellery onto the table. 'I know much of your income is based on your son's work, this should assist until he can return.'

'Will my wife suffer for this?'

'No. When we leave, I am going to cast a spell, one that will freeze you both in place. Gungnir will break it as soon as my father sees you, it will give him the impression you tried to stop us, but I did not listen.' She explained. 'This….this has all been my fault.'

'You did not create that alone.' Tomás commented, looking at his son.

'No, but I am the one who initiated things, I am the one who…I am at fault, do not be angry at Loki, please.'

'I am angry, angry that he was so foolish, but he is my son, I love him with all of my heart, his mother and I love him dearly. This does not change that.' He smiled at Loki as he spoke. 'Now, start the spell.'

'Hide the jewellery.' She ordered. Loki did as she requested. 'Look as though you are trying to stop us.' Tomás nodded and did that, immediately, Sigyn waved her hand and he froze in place.

'He…..'

'He is perfectly safe, just unable to move, he sees and hears everything.' She promised.

Loki took her hand and pulled her to the door. He rushed them into the house and to the living area, where his mother was sewing one of his tunics. 'Loki?'

'Mother.' He smiled sadly at her. 'I need to go for a while, Father will explain soon.'

'Loki?' She looked at the girl. 'Princess?'

'Yes. I'm terribly sorry.' She stated as she looked at Loki grabbing what he was told.

'Loki?' On seeing what he was grabbing, his mother's eyes filled with tears.

'I will be home as soon as I can.' Loki walked over to her and embraced her. 'Thank you Mother, I love you and I cannot thank you enough for everything.'

'Just remember, we love you, no matter what. That letter does not change anything.' She stated, kissing his forehead. When they pulled apart, she looked to the princess, who was looking at them with a look of regret on her face. When she paid proper attention, she too saw what was happening. 'Loki?'

'Yes, and we have to go, for now, the Allfather is coming.'

'How…?'

'Blame me, this is my doing.' Sigyn stated again. 'But to keep you and your husband from my father's anger, I will have to do this now. I am sorry, and it will not hurt.' She again waved her hand, and the woman froze, her grip on Loki. Sigyn used her seidr to remove him from his mother's grasp before using her magic to cloth him fully since he had been only in his pants in the forge again.

'That is very handy.'

'It will aid us now. Have you got what you need?'

'Yes.'

'Then we have to leave.' She was the one to take his hand and lead him outside. 'Do you have a horse?'

'No.'

'Really?'

'I live in the city, I don't need one.'

'Can you ride?' Loki shook his head. 'Norns save us.' She mounted her horse and removed the saddle by seidr, extending her hand to him. 'Come on.' She helped pull him up before she waved her hand.

Loki watched as her belly disappeared to appear like it never existed and the saddle disappeared. 'Why…?'

'It makes it easier.' She explained as she dug her heels in and had the horse canter through the city until they got to the Bifrost bridge, there, Sigyn gave the order for the horse to gallop, which it did obediently.

Loki groaned as he held onto her, careful of her stomach, very much disliking the sensation that he was feeling as a result of the horse's movements. He knew the Bifrost bridge was long, but it felt longer still, even with them galloping across it. Finally, he noticed them coming to the far end of the bridge, to the golden Bifrost itself. When he heard her swear, Loki looked ahead, only to see a single large golden clad figure standing in front of them. He had never seen him face to face before, but he was fully aware who Heimdall was, as did every Asgardian.

Sigyn pulled the reins and the horse slowed. 'Heimdall.'

'Princess.' The guardian bowed.

'I need to get passed.'

'I cannot allow you, orders from the Allfather, you know this.'

'Heimdall, please, I need to get us off this realm.' She pleaded.

'I cannot disobey my king, I am sorry, Sigyn.'

Loki and Sigyn heard a roar behind them and the pair looking behind to the far end of the Bifrost, terror filling them as they realised it was Sleipnir's roar as the great steed begin to gallop the bridge. Looking at Heimdall, he gave Sigyn a pleading look in return. 'You don't have your sword.' She realised.

'It is where it needs to be.' He informed her.

'Heimdall, I need to get by.'

'And I need to stop you.' He stated calmly.

'Please, don't make me….'

'There is no other way, Princess.'

Loki watched as Sigyn stepped forward, looking sadly at the guardian. 'I am so sorry.'

'You are the most loyal, and now you must be loyal to a new cause, one that will appreciate your loyalty.' Heimdall stated. 'What must be done, it is for the right reasons.'

'Thank you.' She smiled as tears came to her eyes. The Guardian went to grab her, Loki was about to step forward to help her but when Heimdall touched her, he began to be covered in ice until he was frozen solid. 'I'm so sorry.' She stated before looking back to Loki and they ran into the Bifrost.

Loki had never seen the Bifrost before and had no idea how it functioned. He watched as Sigyn rushed up a few steps and pushed down a sword that was in a machine in the centre of the room, which caused it to whir to life. As bright lights began to flash in front of them, Loki looked at her in fear.

'Just hold my hand and do not let go. We can do this.' He nodded and held out his hand to her. She took it and the pair went towards the spinning light, unsure as to where they were going. Just as they were pulled into it, there was a noise behind them, seeing the Allfather in his full armour, Sigyn pulled him forward into the machine.


	10. Chapter 10

When they landed, the pair looked around startled. It was freezing, the whole terrain was nothing but ice and snow as an icy wind howled.

'He changed the direction of the Bifrost.' Sigyn commented. 'There is no possible way we were never supposed to come here.'

'Where are we?'

'Jotunheim, I would assume.'

'Assume?'

'We are not exactly on speaking terms with Frost Giants, in case you have forgotten, ergo I have never come here, no Aesir do, we could very well be the first to come here since my father took their Casket and I cannot imagine too many being happy at that. Come one, we need to get inside somewhere, we are too exposed here.' She took his hand and guided him, uncertain as to where they were going. Finally, they came to a cavern too small for a Frost Giant, to get in, but a decent size for two Aesir.

'Thank you.' Loki sighed as they leant against a wall of it, relieved to no longer be facing the cold wind.

'What for? The last thing you should be doing is thanking me.'

'For whatever you are doing to keep me from getting severe frostbite.' Sigyn looked at him, confused. 'You're not…?' She shook her head. 'But how am I not….?'

'I don't know. To my shame, I had not thought about that, but I don't feel cold of late.' She admitted, she studied him. 'You aren't feeling the cold either?'

'No. You?'

'No.' She sat down beside him. 'I am sorry, for bringing you into this. I swear I had no intentions of ever telling him about you.'

Loki looked at her, watching as she used her seidr to reveal her stomach again. 'Did you ever plan on telling me?' Her face answered for her. 'I had a right to know.'

'I know, but I did not want to drag you into this. You could not want this sort of trouble in your life. You surely were not expecting to hear from me again, you do not deserve my problems.'

'It is my blood.' Loki snapped. She turned to look at him. 'It's my...it's...You see it as an inconvenience, to me...it is my blood, my son or daughter.'

'There's two.' He stared at her. 'There are two in there.' She looked at him, fear in her blue eyes.

'Two? I didn't know you could…'

'The palace healer, she is the best in the realms, she has never had one under her care. There are a handful of cases known to have ever occurred at all on Asgard and they are not full Aesir parentage, so this was new for her too.' She explained.

'Did your father really lock you up?'

'I was a prisoner in my rooms, but I never thought to give him your name.' she stated proudly.

'I cannot believe you are Princess Sigyn.'

'Why, I am no different to anyone else.'

'You could have any man in the realms, why…?'

'Again with the idea that I can have whatever I want.' She smiled sadly. 'You think I see my children as an inconvenience? I love them. Every day I feel their seidr interact with mine, telling me they are okay, that they are safe.' she gently rubbed her stomach. 'I love them so much, but...I am not able to care for them.' Loki's eyes widened. 'I...I don't know what to do.'

Loki, though engulfed in his own issues regarding the revelation of her arriving at his home pregnant with his child, revealing she was the daughter of the King, and then to have to be pulled from his home because of her father, knew that she needed to feel somewhat supported at that moment, and put his arm around her. For a moment, she looked at him scared. 'When was the last time anyone touched you in an affectionate manner?' He asked curiously.

'You...that day.' She replied.

His eyes widened. 'No one….?'

'I have been alone, my own maid betrayed me, took pleasure in making me suffer, because of this. I…' He pulled her against him and kissed her head. Loki was not the least bit surprised when she began to hold onto him too.

They remained that way for a short while until it started to get dark. Though neither were cold, they were not particularly warm either, so Sigyn conjured up a fire to keep them warm. They were hungry, but the wind still raged and they had no sense of where on the ice realm they were, so they were forced to remain as they were until they could orientate themselves. Tired from hormones and stress, Sigyn fell asleep easily. Loki, on the other hand, could not. He allowed himself take in everything that had happened and assessed it. He then thought of his parents. He smiled sadly at their reaction. Yes, they were upset with him, and he understood why, but they still supported him, they risked themselves for him. He looked to Sigyn, who was clearly lacking any form of support for a considerable length of time. Hearing what her family did, he was not surprised she could not feel as though she had any other option but to flee. He also thought of what she said, how she tried to protect him, of what she risked to protect him. He was grateful to her as well as upset with her for her not telling him who she was to begin with if nothing else. Thinking of his parents again, he thought of the letter his father had told him to take. For years, that envelope was on the shelf, and for years his father swore they day would come that he would read it, but he thought it was the deeds to the forge, so he was never bothered by it. But considering all that had occurred, and the way his father insisted he take it with him, he now knew it was not that. So, with some time to himself, he took it out and began to read, his eyes widening as he did.

'What would you have me do?' Odin snapped, not looking at Frigga as she stood behind him, having been called to help tend to Heimdall.

'You sent our pregnant daughter to a hostile realm, you sent a boy that was simply thrusted the information that….Do not throw your eye up Odin, the boy did not know who she was.'

'His father would have known damn well.'

'For Valhalla's sake Odin, he hardly asked his father as to who it was he was in the company of as they conceived those children, did he?' Frigga retorted. 'It explains her issues with ice.'

'Laufey's blood.' Odin shook his head, his face filled with shame.

'And yours and mine, children of royal blood from three realms, I think they are officially the most royal blooded of the realms.'

'We can never let it be known.' Odin insisted.

'So what happens when they are born? What plan have you for our daughter and her children?'

'If he had been any other, even a commoner.' Odin growled. 'But for it to be him, they cannot…'

'What are you talking about Odin?' Frigga demanded.

'Those children, this whole situation, needs to end, they cannot be recognised.'

'And Sigyn?'

'As soon as this is over, as soon as they are removed from her, she will be wed to Lord Simon's son, and we will never speak of this again.'

'Lord Simon's boy?'

'Yes.'

'They are hardly the most fitting.'

'Our daughter is a harlot that has run off, pregnant with a Frost Giant and you think her the one on the bad end of this arrangement?' Odin scoffed.

'And the children?'

'With this situation, there is a good chance they will not even survive this.' Odin growled coldly. Frigga swallowed, as much as it hurt, it was true, there was a considerable chance that Sigyn would lose them.


	11. Chapter 11

Sigyn groaned as she woke. The hard ground was not doing her back any good. The fire she had made had remained in her sleep, letting light flicker around the cavern as the wind continued to howl outside, keeping them warm. She turned around to see Loki sitting up, clearly thinking about something. 'Did you not sleep?'

'No.' He turned his head towards her. 'It is the middle of the night, you may as well get some more rest.'

She pulled herself up and sat beside him. 'I'm sorry.'

'I know.' He leant towards her. 'I know why Odin was able to tell I am the father.' She looked at him, waiting for the answer. 'I am a Frost Giant.' Her curiosity turned to utter confusion. 'Or half one at least. I was found here, during the war with Jotunheim, the Allfather found me and thought it best to bring me back to Asgard, my uncle was one of his soldiers, he told the Allfather that my parents would take me and raise me, so he consented, and that is why I was on Asgard, why he knew that you and I…'

'I'm sorry you had to find out all of that like this.'

'I knew my parents were not my real parents. They never lied about that, they always told me they could not have their own, but I was everything they could ever ask for, they showed me nothing but love. I felt so lucky, most children could never say their parents love them so much that they chose to have them. I just…I didn't realise…'

'Well, it explains your lack of liking heat.' Sigyn had not even meant to say it, but when she realised she did, she looked at him, worried about his reply.

Loki, though shocked with her flippant comment, found himself chuckling. 'I suppose it does.'

'It also explains why this happened.' She looked at her stomach, rubbing it. 'The spell I used to stop this happening was to make my womb hostile to sperm, too cold. I accidentally made myself perfect for you.' She shook her head. 'It also explains the two babies.'

'Well, it apparently explains a lot.' Loki nodded. 'I'm sorry that I dragged you into my madness too.'

'You didn't even know you were half Jotunn.' She shrugged before looking at him analytically. 'Though I thought they were supposed to be blue, red-eyed, really tall and not….'

'Not what?'

'Incredibly handsome.'

Loki found himself blushing slightly. 'I don't think I…'

'You are, you just are reading the word Jotnar and thinking that means monster and you don't want to see it now, but you are.'

'Our children will be odd looking.'

'I don't care if they look like Jotnar, I just want them to be safe and healthy.' She sighed. 'You need to get some sleep.' She waved her hand, a moment later there were pelts on the floor. 'I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier.' She pulled him to lay closer the fire beside her. 'It's easier to stay warm this way.' She stated as she made sure they had enough pelts to keep them warm and comfortable.

Loki lay with his chest to her back, his arm going around her, his hand resting on her stomach, where he felt the slightest movement against his hand. 'Is that...?'

'I think so, I never felt it like that before.' she turned enough to look at him. 'It must know you're here.' She half-joked.

'You don't know what they are, do you? Their gender, I mean.'

'No, I would have needed to go on the soul forge for that, and that would require leaving my room.'

Loki nodded slightly, acknowledging the difficulties she endured as punishment for not revealing him to her father. 'What would he have said, were you to have been honest from the start?'

Sigyn gave a cold laugh. 'He would be just as angry. For me to kiss, much less be intimate with a commoner, is utterly unacceptable. I have disgraced him, beyond saving.'

'Saving?'

'Our relationship. My father and I, we...I was never worth the effort Thor was, I am just a girl. My mother, with time, may speak with me again, but I disappointed her so much, she said how she wanted it to be at a time where she would be excited for me, this….I have destroyed my family.' Her voice was tight as she spoke, displaying her upset at how things had turned out.

'You don't cry, do you?'

'I never did, not since I was a child, my father said it is a sign of weakness.'

'It is a natural expression of emotion.' Loki argued.

'Not to Odin.'

'I knew he was strict, you have to be strong to be a leader, but that is not right, to have it where you hold it in…'

'I am the daughter of a warrior king, I cannot be weak, if I am weak, he is weak by proxy. So my doing this, me being a moralless harlot, that reflects directly on him.'

'You are your own being, you should only have to think of you and what you want.'

'I have never been able to do what I want. Well, I have, some bit did what I wanted, even without permission and look where it got me.' She put her hand over his as the baby inside moved again.

'If you had been allowed do whatever you wanted, what would it have been, tell me all of it.'

'You don't….'

'Tell me, I am asking because I want to know.'

'Why?'

'You are the woman carrying my children, I think it is something worth discussing, surely?'

'True,' she conceded. 'I wanted to be a healer, I wanted to help people. I wanted to see the realms, not royal visits, but really see, talk to the people, the real people. I wanted to marry for the right reasons, I wanted him to make me smile, to be someone I could converse with even after the youth and excitement were over. I just wanted someone I could love.' She looked into Loki's green eyes. 'Who I would not feel as though I had to be half drunk just for him to try and put a child in me. He would never live up to you, though. You are more handsome than any other man I ever met and make me feel good about me. Out of the men I have been with, I am glad you are the one.' Loki put his hand under her chin kissed her, her responding immediately. It did not take long for them to become more passionate, both unable to get enough of each other as they lay on the pelts, by the fire in the ice cave.


	12. Chapter 12

The storm settled sometime in the night. When Loki woke, he noted his left arm was stiff from leaning on it. Beside him, Sigyn continued to sleep, facing his chest, seemingly inhaling his scent as she did so, her hand on his tunic, holding onto him. He thought about what she said, she liked him, truly liked him. He never knew a lot about the Aesir princess, she was always overshadowed by her older brother, the future king, but people always said she was beautiful, like her mother. Looking at her, Loki had to admit, he had thought her beautiful from the start, but against him, the clear stresses of her recent life not bothering her as greatly while she slept, she was all the more beautiful. Looking down, he paid close attention to her stomach, inside which, not one, but two children grew. He grimaced as he felt his stomach cramp. In all the years he was alive, he had yet to skip a meal, and he felt it as he lay, wondering how they would eat.

'It's better to sleep off hunger.' Loki frowned. 'I heard your stomach, when you are hungry, you are better off sleeping.'

'How does a princess know that?'

'Because this princess annoyed her father so many times over the years that she was sent to bed without dinner more than once.'

'I never realised…'

'I was never a good daughter.'

'Or were you good, but your father never cared so you rebelled?'

'I don't know.' She admitted, her fingers gently moving over his. 'I can't even remember anymore. I don't want it to be like that with these two.'

'They are loved already.' Loki commented. 'Look at everything you have done for them already. Only a mother who truly loves her children could do what you have done, and what you did for me.'

'It's the least I could do.' she rose. 'It's daylight. We need to move.' She used her seidr to tidy up and wrap them warmly. 'It is going to raise suspicion why we are here at all, but if there are two seemingly Aesir or Vanir here, acting as though this is a walk in the park on a warm day, it will only raise more suspicions.'

Though he was uncomfortably warm, Loki agreed with her. If they were to meet any Jotnar, which he sincerely hoped they would not, but if they were to, a pair of supposedly Aesir beings not dressed as though they were on an ice realm would indeed arouse suspicion. 'Come on.' He took her hand and the pair made their way out of the cave.

Sigyn used her magic to look over the realm and see what way to go, ascertaining a direction of travel, they slowly made their way through the harsh climate realm.

'It is surprisingly beautiful.' Loki noted as they looked over the white landscape, icy mountains rising high into the sky.

'Yes, it's odd, I have seen most of the realms, they contrast so much, but all are beautiful in their own way, bar Svartalfheim, that was a barren wasteland. Many would assume the same of here too but if you truly look at it, it's not, the ice is quite beautiful.' Sigyn agreed.

They walked for a considerable time before they came to an icy building, it was long abandoned, but it was clear it had previously been a place of importance, if Sigyn were to hamper a guess. They looked around as they assessed everything. It had been a full day since they had eaten. Loki was feeling somewhat ill, but he said nothing, knowing that even if they found something to the amount of a few bites, he would relinquish it to her to feed their children; Sigyn, he realised, did not seem to be affected as he was. He was about to say something to her when he realised she was focusing on something, so curious, he remained silent and still as he watched her magic a weapon into her hand and stared into a far corner of the large room, a moment later, she hurled the blade he never knew she had into it and with a squeal something fell. 'What…?'

'Boarbat.'

'What?'

'A boarbat, it's gamey and fatty, but it's meat.' She explained. Loki stared at her in shock. 'I snuck out on a hunt with Thor once, only because I was bored and my idiot brother decided to make a comment about women being a terrible huntsman, so I decided to alter the appearance of my gender, go with him and his friends and prove otherwise.' She walked over and pulled the blade from an animal that was larger than a rabbit and winged. 'Ugly, aren't they?'

'It won't win any beauty competitions.' He concurred. 'What will we do with it?'

'Well, a stew would be better, but beggars cannot be choosers, we will just have to spit roast it.' She used her seidr to create a fire. 'We made a good ten miles today, we should rest here for the night.'

'You are far too knowledgeable about things that are not really women's pursuits, it is scary to see.'

'I thought if I learnt about it, my father would want to talk about them with me like he did with Thor.' She explained.

'You really tried with the Allfather.'

'I just….I wanted…him to want me.' She bit her lips together and inhaled deeply. 'What did you do with your father?'

Loki's smile broke her heart, it was so genuine. 'My father brought me camping, any chance we had. We tried hunting, but I felt bad for the animals.' She smiled at his kind heart. 'And my mother, every week, she used to teach me how to bake and cook, so that no matter what, I would be able to tend to my home. I love baking bread.' He explained. 'I used to beg my father that I be allowed to stay home from school so to be in the forge with him, but he insisted, that as much as he hoped I would take on the forge, that he wanted me to be educated too.'

'Your parents seem to be amazing people.'

'They are.'

'How old were you when they first told you?'

'That I was adopted? I don't think they ever said the words, but they told me of the day my uncle came to their door, fresh from battle, me in his arms, telling them that the Allfather had permitted them to raise me. How I was everything they ever asked for, a gift from the Norns.'

'That is incredible.'

Loki smiled. 'Yes. I was fortunate. I never felt the need to ask them about my true parents, I never felt they mattered, whatever the reason was that I was given to them, I was grateful for that. Though, with this revelation, I am not sure what to think. I am wondering how I came to be.' Sigyn nodded apathetically. 'We are the oddest pairing for this.' Loki chuckled. 'The orphan part Frost Giant and the princess.'

'We are, yet here we sit, in this situation.' She agreed. 'I still maintain I am happy that as much as I regret the situation, I am glad it is with you.'

'I was always worried the mother of my children would not be of a certain temperament, I always disliked shy women, I...I never thought someone so authoritative and strong would be…'

Sigyn's brows raised. 'I doubt you would say such if they end up like me.' she checked the heat of the fire before using her seidr to skin the boarbat and then put it on a makeshift rotisserie.

The sun was not very bright on Jotunheim in general, but it was clear that darkness was descending fast on the realm as they watched the food cook. By the time it was done, Loki was utterly ravenous. When Sigyn handed him a leg of the animal, he could not care less that it was unseasoned and gamey, he ate it immediately, striping the meat from the bone. When that was done, he looked at the animal again before looking to Sigyn, who was gently picking the meat off. 'Sorry.'

'You don't often miss a meal, do you?' Sigyn smiled as she tore off some more for him.

'Can you tell?'

'Yeah, it shows.' She nodded, her face kind and caring.

'How come me, why not some Lord's son?'

'I have tried to find a man in a class that my father approves of, but they are so horrid, conceited and arrogant. It is like I should be grateful they would even consider me, that I should be a good obedient little wife, look pretty, give sons and let them marry into my father's graces. They just do not suit me.'

'When we first...you stated you had….before.'

'Yes, I had.' She admitted unashamedly. 'I thought you had too.'

'Not that.' Her brows rose. 'I had done other things, but not that.'

'Oh. Well, you would not have guessed.'

'Really?' Loki was startled by her comment.

'No, I had not thought it, you are really good at that.'

'You're not just saying that for my ego?'

'I have no reason to. I would not have allowed you to do it again last night.' She stated as she took another bit of meat off the leg she was eating, chuckling to herself as Loki stuck his chin out and grinned proudly at her statement.

'Well, you were incredible, I…' Sigyn began to giggle and before she could stop herself, she was laughing uncontrollably. 'What?'

'I cannot believe you got someone pregnant the first time you did that, how fertile are you?'

Loki had to agree, it was somewhat notable. 'I am not sure?'

'And in a forge, as a part Jotnar, that is not ideal conditions, you are dangerous, I feel like we should have a warning on you.' She laughed. Loki could only laugh at her comments, loving her sense of humour and smile as they continued to eat what little they had, Sigyn insisting Loki eat more because he was not used to such conditions, Loki insisting on her taking it considering she was pregnant, in the end, she insisted in the end they just divide it. That night, they curled up together again, Loki's hand once more on her stomach, shocked and in awe when she moved it slightly to where there were movements within so he could feel them.


	13. Chapter 13

The next day they made it another few miles before Sigyn pulled Loki behind a large snowdrift. Loki frowned at her until he realised there was a genuine look of fear on her face. They remained silently still for a few minutes, hearing footfalls going passed them as they waited. When they were certain they were safe, Sigyn checked, before Loki could stop her and with her declaring the coast was clear, the pair moved on.

Again they came to a large building, it was another length of time before it would get dark, but they felt it was better to be guaranteed shelter than to be out after the sun went down searching for some, so they entered it, noting it was highly ornate and carved ice and found an area that was not drafty to rest in. Loki collapsed against the wall as soon as they agreed on a spot and slid to the floor, exhausted. Sigyn looked at him sadly as she made a fire and began scrapping ice to add to a pot to make water.

'How are you not affected?' Loki asked as he watched her.

'I am smaller, so I require less nutrients, I am used to being left without a meal for being a terrible daughter and I have seidr, which is helping ensure the babies are okay.' She explained.

'What are you doing?'

'Do you know how I was looking at the ground a lot today?' He nodded, 'I was collecting dinner.' She smiled, using her seidr to reveal her foraging efforts. 'I am going to see if there is a boarbat or other animal here to add to it, broths and stews are best with them, but let's face it, I don't think either of us cares at this stage.'

'Not particularly.' Loki admitted, watching as she again used her seidr to ready their meal. 'I doubt it is supposed to be used like that, is it?'

'My seidr?' He nodded. 'No, I did not study this for seven hundred years to cut up food, it requires thousands of hours of hours of reading, seidr is an extension of the wielder, it grows from the wielder, it takes incredible work to nurture it, I spent more time exhausted and recovering from pushing myself, you can only become stronger and more proficient when you push yourself more, but it is the situation we are in, so it will do.'

'Seven hundred…..really?'

'Yes.' she smiled sadly. 'I remember the day my father insisted I take lessons, I kept turning all of the mead and ale to water at a banquet and not even my mother could alter it back.'

'I cannot imagine that went down well with the gentry.'

'They were livid, I ruined the whole thing, apparently.' The small smile she had on her lips fell as she recalled her father's anger and words at her actions, something she had never been able to control.

'How old were you?'

'About two hundred.'

'A small child.' Loki shook his head. 'You could not even know the situation fully and you were reprimanded for it.'

'It is what it is.' She shrugged. 'It was Thor that put the idea in my head, really. I said I did not like when the men get loud and start getting rowdy and he said it was the drink that did that and if they only drank water, then it would not happen, so I, in my innocence, did that.' Loki gave her a sympathetic look. 'Such is life.' She felt herself getting annoyed. 'I am going to look for some meat source.' She stated as she looked around the large ice building.

It took some swift thinking, but Sigyn was able to catch two small rodent-like creatures she was sure were called farbrats. She skinned and cut them up before she got back to Loki, not sure how he would feel if he saw them whole. When she returned to him, she smiled at him as he slept. The food would take another hour or so anyway, so adding the meat to the pot, she lay down beside him and tried to rest. It was barely a moment before Loki gently put his arm around her, resting it on her stomach, where their children grew within.

The more she looked around the great building, the more Sigyn became suspicious as to its purpose. It was highly ornate and far too grand to simply be abandoned for no reason. What really aroused her suspicion as to its purpose was the raised platform to the back of the main room, on what almost seemed to be an altar. Part of her wondered if they were in the place that housed the Casket when it was on Jotunheim, it gave the air of such a place.

The night passed swiftly as they were both tired and for the first time since their departure from Asgard, they were well fed. During the night, the pair woke, but again, filled with lust, they exhausted themselves through amourous acts, they fell asleep quickly.

What woke then the next morning was a deep and sinister voice somewhere in the large building. Fearfully, Loki pulled Sigyn to him and thought of how best to protect her and the babies, but those that were in the building with them did not seem to realise they were not alone.

'And Helbindi?' One voice asked.

'My foolish brother, he is the only thing standing in the way.' The deeper voice that woke them growled. 'It needs to look like a coup, anything else will raise suspicion. Father's weakness is in him doing nothing. Asgard is weakened, Prince Thor is off-realm and the Allfather and Allmother are so worried about the Princess being so ill that the Casket is ripe for the taking and yet he does nothing. We do not even need to attack, we need only send in a few through one of the portals and we can have it returned, return us to our former glory.'

'And make Odin pay?'

'No, no that is too obvious. With Laufey gone, we broker an agreement with Asgard, show them how civilised and unthreatening we are as we try to rebuild. If we go to war before we are at full strength, they will defeat us, but if we play the long game, if we delay our attack, and let the Aesir think we are going to do nothing, then attack, we have the element of surprise.'

Loki looked to Sigyn, who was swallowing her fear at their words.

'So, when do we start?' The other asked.

'Tonight, ready the others, it is time for Jotunheim to rise.'

Sigyn had used her seidr to get rid of the fire as well as dress herself and Loki again, and at that moment, she was grateful for her foresight as one of the Frost Giants came to the altar area and looked at the empty pedestal, had she not extinguished it, they would have been found immediately.

The one giving the orders looked at the pedestal again before growling something along the lines of "soon" before turning and leaving again.

Sigyn sighed in relief before looking to Loki, who was pale and fearful looking. 'We need to keep going.'

'What about what he just said?'

'We cannot warn Asgard if we are dead.' She retorted. 'The sooner we get off this realm, the sooner we can warn others.'

'But Laufey….'

'Loki, do you honestly think Laufey, the King of the Jotnar, the very being my father warred so greatly against is going to let two Aesir just walk into his palace and then believe us when we tell him that his own son is planning to usurp the throne, are you mad? He will kill us as soon as look at us.'

'His son?'

'That was Býleistr, Laufey's son. He has sired two, Helbindi and Býleistr, the former was born after the war, there is no way I am getting involved in that, my concern is Asgard.' She stated. 'We need to get off Jotunheim.'

Seeing the severity of the situation, Loki nodded and followed after her, the pair being cautious as they left the temple and continued their journey.

'Out of curiosity, as you always seem to be looking for something, what are you searching for?'

'A portal. All the realms are connected by a series of portals, we need to reach one that is not Asgard and get out of here.' She instructed. 'You have some semblance of seidr in you, if you sense something nearby, let me know, I am bringing us to the one I can sense at present.'

They walked a while longer before Sigyn realised they were very close to the main city of the realm, she was fearful as to why there was a portal so close to it, but as there were no concerns as to the Jotnar being in Asgard, she knew it went elsewhere. Slowly they made their way towards it, but with it all but in their sights, they realised they were spotted. Jotnar jumped from the ice buildings around them, icy weapons on their arms. Sigyn used her seidr to blast the oncoming Jotnar out of their way before transporting them out of the way as another went to grab them. They ran as fast as they could towards the portal before being surrounded completely, Loki standing in front of Sigyn as the most terrifying of them stood forward.

'What is the meaning of this?'

'King Laufey.' Sigyn bowed as she had been taught as a child.


	14. Chapter 14

The Frost Giant king, far taller and stronger looking than those that surrounded them, eyed the two foreign beings with both interest and anger. 'Why are you here?'

'We were thrown here by accident. We have been trying to get off your realm for three days.'

The Frost Giant king looked at the pair, the tall, lithe man and a woman he suspected to be pregnant, her warm clothing hiding if his suspicions were correct. His focus was more and more on Sigyn, which unsettled the pair. 'And what brings the supposedly gravely ill second child of the Allfather to this realm?' She swallowed. 'You see, little girl, before your father and I warred, I bore witness to his marriage to Frigga, sister of King Raphael of Vanaheim, a noted beauty, if you are into such appearances, you look more like her, though there is no denying your sire in you either.' Sigyn said nothing. 'You do not look to be dying.'

'I took time off realm, I am not aware of whatever story my parents gave as to my absence.' She explained.

'I would imagine your travel companion is something to do with that.'

Sigyn looked at Loki, who still had yet to speak. 'A fellow lost traveller, we are both simply trying to get home.' She explained.

'I see.' Laufey stepped forward, watching the pair as he did. 'Tell me, Princess, does your father know you are here?'

'I do not know. I don't feel comfortable with Heimdall knowing what I am going at all times, ergo I do not allow him to know. I dare say if he thought I was here, he would come in, all weapons drawn, accusing you of having done something to me,' Laufey and many other Jotnar looked at one another worriedly. 'So, I think for all involved, it is best my father is not aware as to my whereabouts.'

'Indeed. Which leads me to another interesting question, why has it been announced you are ill on Asgard?'

Sigyn almost laughed. 'I thought that to be obvious, I can only assume he said such because if I am at home ill, I am not going to be bothered by any that see me as they are going to assume I am not me, bar you of course, who clearly knew it was me, but Jotnar are a more astute race.'

'Flattery will not work here.' A Jotnar to Laufey's side snarled.

'I am well aware it will not, Prince Helbindi, but it is fact. Your markings are familial, meaning for safety, it is integral to know who it is you are approaching when speaking with another Jotnar lest you insult the other, as well as having to find creatures the same colour as ice and snow in a landscape of such, so it is no mere attempt to compliment, but simply stating fact.' Sigyn smiled sweetly.

Loki watched as her words resonated with them, startled by her ability to talk down Laufey and his son from anger.

'So, Little Princess, you want nothing more than passage?'

'Nothing more.' She agreed.

'Do you not think you would fetch a high price from the Allfather for your safe return?'

'Thor would fetch a nice price, I am merely the spare, or I would be, were I male.'

'The Aesir do not see strength in the manner it should be seen, gender is irrelevant.' Laufey commented.

'Well, that is how it is there, you know my father. He is prideful, you cost him an eye, I cost him a chance at a second son, and yet interestingly, I think I won as to whom he dislikes more.'

'I feel I should be insulted.'

'You probably should be.' Sigyn agreed. 'Please, your Majesty, I merely wish to get to a realm where I do not require four pelts to be warm on any given time of day. I bear no ill to the Jotnar, as I hope you bear no ill to me.'

'And your travel companion? Is he mute? He has not spoken throughout this whole conversation.'

Sigyn looked at Loki, who was still looking fearfully at the Jotnar king. 'No, your Majesty, I merely have no right speaking in a conversation between royals.' He stated quietly.

'A commoner, I dare say you are hiding from the Allfather if this is the company you are in.' Laufey chuckled. 'Perhaps it is refuge you seek.'

'I fear no man, not even my father.' Sigyn stated, her head high. 'Of course, I know his weaknesses.'

'And what is to stop us from forcing you to tell us the Allfather's weaknesses?' Helbindi growled.

'Because she is Sigyn the Loyal.' His father informed him. 'I warned you before of speaking without thinking. The Allfather's daughter is renowned for her loyalty, and as such will not give up such details on pain of death.' He eyed her carefully, her ensuring to maintain eye contact throughout. 'But that is not to say, for the right reasons, for greater loyalties, she would not alter her allegiances.'

'Life can change, we can never say never.' Sigyn agreed.

Laufey studied her further, both silently looking at one another, even Loki looking between them. 'Apparently so.' Sigyn unconsciously leant closer to Loki. 'Well then, Princess, all things considered, I think it best we get you off this realm before the Allfather becomes aware of your location.'

'Thank you.' She bowed, trying to hide her relief.

'You are not Odin's daughter, you are the likeness of the Allmother in more than appearance.'

'I take pride in that comment, thank you, Your Majesty.'

'You do not fear us?'

'I fear very little, I do not believe you to be a danger at present, you would have harmed us already if you planned on it, not care to have a conversation.'

'At present?' Helbindi's tone was insulted. 'How do we know you are not here spying?'

'Because the princess is not capable of fighting at present, are you princess?' Laufey's eyes flickered to Sigyn's stomach, then back to her knowingly. 'Did you know that as much as we need to be able to read one another's markings, we also need to be able to smell?'

'I did not.' Though she was terrified that Laufey had seemingly figured out her secret, Sigyn did not let it show as she spoke. 'Sadly, I was not able to read too much on your realm.'

'Yes, we have to smell a lot also, other Jotnar,' his eyes flickered to Loki, 'both born and unborn,' again his eyes went to her stomach.

'As I stated already, observant and astute.' Sigyn smiled.

Laufey chuckled at her manner, realising she would not confirm or indeed deny. 'So the House of Odin is not without fault.'

'Show me a perfect being and I will show you one that has never truly lived.'

Laufey was startled by her comment. 'How many generations of royal blood created you?'

'I don't honestly know, from what I gather, both families were respective monarchs since the creation of the realms they ruled, though as I was not there, I cannot confirm. Victory, I have realised has always been the word of those who won, often construing facts and in many cases, bare-faced lying so to villainise the other side, so I have no idea what the past holds in my lines, but I do know it is a long tradition in my blood to be royal.'

'My line has been here since the beginning, and it will continue after me.' Laufey stated, Sigyn merely nodded. 'I give you passage, but the day will come, Princess, be it in my lifetime or after, when this boon will have to be acknowledged.'

'While my father is Allfather, I cannot guarantee my words will be listened to, but be it him or Thor, I will remember this. I never believe in forgetting a good turn.'

Laufey nodded. 'Then go where you are going, immediately. The portal you sense goes to Alfheim.'

Sigyn smiled in relief. 'Our mutual friend.'

'Helbindi will bring you to where you need to go.' He looked around those gathered. 'Where is Býleistr?'

Loki and Sigyn stole a glance at one another before looking to the Jotnar king again. 'Thank you, your Majesty.' Sigyn smiled politely, moving forward to follow after the very unimpressed looking Helbindi, Loki walked after her.

They rushed after the longer stridden Frost Giant, who seemed less than happy to do that much for them. 'I do not trust you.' He declared.

'Considering the animosity between our fathers, I do not blame you.' Sigyn admitted.

'How do I know you will not just go to your father?'

'Because I am actively avoiding him.' Sigyn growled. She turned to see Laufey close by, watching them as they prepared to leave. She gave an indication for Loki to remain where he was before going over to the king and indicated for him to lean closer to her. 'You have a coup coming, starting tonight, the reason you cannot find Býleistr, is because he is trying to ready himself to take your throne.'

'Why would you tell me this?' The king questioned.

'We could have perished here, yet you showed us mercy, and eye for an eye, though that is in bad taste, considering my father's eye.'

'I was aiming for his mouth.' Laufey sneered.

'You'd think with the size of that thing you would have hit it.' Sigyn scoffed, startling the king as she bowed and went to leave.

'How can I believe your words, Little Girl.'

'Believe them, or not, I do not care, but I said what needed to be said, so I am now without guilt.'

'After everything, it must kill the Allfather, your actions.'

'I did not wait to find out.' She walked towards the portal, taking Loki's hand in hers and going through.

Helbindi went back to his father. 'What did she say?'

'She confirmed my suspicions.'

'And the other one?'

'It would appear the Allfather has very much reason to hate us all the more.'

'He is Jotnar?'

'He is your brother.' The king stated to his shocked son.


	15. Chapter 15

The sun on Alfheim made Loki and Sigyn smile after the three long and gruelling days on Jotunheim. Sigyn immediately removed their multiple layers of furs, though she still wore a long cloak over her to cover her stomach, which she was almost certain had grown in their time on Jotunheim by some manner of movement by one or both of the babies. It was not overly comfortable, but she had little choice.

They were somewhat startled when they realised there was some form of building just next to the portal that seemed to be a form of a checkpoint. The Light Elf that walked towards them seemed somewhat shocked to see two non-Jotnar standing there looking at him. 'Oh.'

'Hello.' Sigyn smiled politely.

'Are...how can I help you?'

'We sort of fell through a portal on Jotunheim and King Laufey permitted us safe passage through so we ended up here.'

'Realm of residence?'

'Vananheim.' Loki looked at her, startled by the ease she lied.

'Very well,' The elf gave a small nod and let them by.

'Why did you…?'Loki asked when they were far enough away from the man.

'If I said Aesir, he would have been suspicious, the Vanir do not have any qualms with the Jotnar per se, they are not at war, they just don't really bother one another, the Aesir and Jotnar despise one another, it is common sense not to admit to being Aesir.' She explained.

'How do you know all this?'

'I am the daughter of the Allfather, I know every lord and lady of about six realms, thankfully, Alfheim is one of those realms, and thankfully, I know someone here who can help us.' She smiled, one that filled Loki with confidence.

'Heimdall,' The guardian turned to look at the Allmother. 'Where is she?'

'She hides from view, Allmother. But she permits momentary glances to inform me of her whereabouts.'

'Is she still on Jotunheim?'

'No, your majesty, she got permission from Laufey to pass through the realm.'

'Laufey!?'

'Yes, Princess Sigyn has opened communications with Laufey, and appears to have saved his life.' Frigga frowned. 'There was trouble afoot on Jotunheim, trouble which she has thwarted, but there is another issue, Allmother.' She listened carefully. 'Laufey is fully aware of the princess's situation.'

'She told him?' Frigga could not comprehend what she was saying.

'Nothing of the sort, but you forget, Allmother, Laufey is a highly astute being. He sensed the infants within the princess, and so too has he realised the truth behind Loki Tomásson.'

'The truth?'

'I was at this post when Lady Sasha of Vanaheim met Laufey and became with their child, when she birthed it and died in the aftermath, do you think Laufey would not recognise the child she gave him, the one that was rushed from the Jotunn palace and its carer killed by the battle, the child lost in the fight.'

Frigga's eyes widened. 'Sasha?' She realised then her friend's father had lied as to what happened his daughter, that she had not simply been ill, but had birthed a child and not survived. 'I….'

'They are safe, though Laufey is personally enjoying his tainting the Allfather's line.' Frigga shook her head. 'The most royal blooded of all the realms, and these children are loathed by their extended family.'

'I do not loathe….' Heimdall gave her a knowing look. 'They have done such damage, inadvertently, to this family.'

'I have seen many dark acts in my time at this post, I have seen peoples slaughtered, malicious murders and cruel acts of which I will never be able to erase from my mind, I see them all, so with that in mind, the manner in which the Sigyn strived to seek approval from the Allfather, the lack of response did more damage to your family than any children could ever do.' Frigga swallowed. 'She is caring for those children, as a parent should, her and Tomásson, they are willing to do anything to protect them.'

'They are gallivanting around the realms as though this is some form of a honeymoon.'

'Would such be so bad? I fail to see the issue in this pairing compared to any other.'

'For one that claims to have seen immense darkness in the realms, you seem all too willing to not see the errors here.'

'I acknowledge them, Allmother, I simply cannot understand the reason to add more when a simple answer remains obvious.'

'My daughter will never be allowed marry so low and to one of such lines.' Frigga explained sadly.

'Then your daughter is never destined for happiness, for a bond has been forged, and neither will be happy without the other.' Heimdall warned as he looked out to the realms again, not informing Frigga of his connection to Sigyn, who he had been conversing with at length regarding the situation she was in, telling her what was occurring on Asgard and where to find those she sought.

'Norns, are my eyes deceiving me?'

'Anastasia.' Sigyn smiled at the kind older woman who came to embrace her, but she stepped back as she did, causing the woman to frown. 'I will explain, in private.'

'Okay, is everything alright dear? Come in, come in.' The older woman ushered the pair into a private drawing room. 'Start from the start, Duckie.'

'Well, first of all, this is Loki.' She indicated to the man beside her. 'Loki, this is Anastasia, my Godmother.'

'Hello.' Loki smiled awkwardly.

'Come now, Boy, I don't bite.' The woman smiled as she eyed him up and down. 'He's not…'

'No, Loki is not noble.'

'Yet you and he are…..?'

'It's complicated.' Sigyn explained. 'Ana, I messed up terribly.'

'What mischief have you caused this time?' The woman smiled fondly.

'I am scared to tell you, though I know I am being over cautious.'

Anastasia frowned, 'Duckie, what did I tell you when you were young? You can tell me anything, no matter how good or bad, I will listen, and we will see what we can do to fix it.'

Sigyn swallowed and nodded, remembering when the woman she loved so dearly had said that to her so long ago when she first started to get in trouble. She rose to her feet once more and removed her cloak, revealing her stomach.

'Well now, that is not what I was expecting if I am honest, but explain to me how this is a terrible thing.'

'I am not married...I…'

'Is it healthy?' She nodded. 'Are you healthy?' Again Sigyn nodded. 'Then this is not as bad as you think, not ideal, but not bad.' Anastasia smiled before looking at Loki, 'And you are the father?' He nodded. She eyed him up and down again. 'And you are helping her?'

'I only know about it a few days, but yes, I very much intend to. They are my blood, I will not abandon them, or Sigyn.' He stated with conviction.

'Them?'

'There are two.' Sigyn explained.

'Oh Norns, you poor thing, you have a long way to go yet so.'

'I am just about half way.'

'I see, and my dear nephew, I assume you have single-handedly brought about the downfall of Asgard with this in his eyes?' Her tone was more than telling as to how she viewed Odin.

'He forced me to remain in my rooms for two months, I did not get to see a healer in that time and when I would not tell him about Loki, he went on a warpath and went hunting him down. When he found him, we had to flee and he cast us to Jotunheim.'

'Jotun...of course he did, what else would you do with your scared young pregnant daughter?' Anastasia growled. 'Get some food, and then wash and rest. I will have a healer here before you finish eating.'

The young pair did as she instructed and washed and readied themselves in the shared room she brought them to. Loki was startled by the action, expecting her to at least separate them, when he mentioned such to Sigyn, there was a small laugh from outside the door.

'It's a bit late for separating you two, the damage is long done, unless you think you can add a third one in there.'

Loki's face turned bright red at the woman's remark as Sigyn just laughed. 'She's not wrong.'

'She is…..'

'Odin's aunt.'

'How old is she?'

'Nearing five thousand, I think, she doesn't let us know, she has always been like this, Odin never really liked her.'

'But she is your Godmother.'

'Yes, if I would be one to wager, I would imagine it was done as an insult to her, that she was only worth the useless one.'

Loki swallowed and walked over to Sigyn, putting his arms around her. 'You're not useless.' She gave him a look that told him she did not believe him. 'You're not, you are so talented and beautiful and intelligent and strong, and you cannot see that because you are so busy waiting for him to see it, but he won't, because he doesn't want to. Your worth is not measured by him, Sigyn. I only know you a short while and I think you are one of the most incredible beings I have ever met.'

Sigyn said nothing as she listened to his words and took them in. Part of her knew what he was saying was right, Odin was never going to care how much she achieved, it would never be enough, she felt foolish for trying. 'But…'

'There are no "buts" Sigyn, you need to stop wasting time trying to prove yourself to him, you deserve to know love, you deserve it.'

'Who could possibly love a harlot like me?'

Loki put some stray hair behind her ear. 'Who could possibly not love you, and you are not a harlot.' He smiled kindly. 'I feel such anger that you are made feel as though you are anything other than what you truly are.' He leant down and kissed her.

Sigyn could not help herself, the feeling of adequacy and self-worth Loki instilled in her with his words caused her to want to around him all the more. Every time they spoke, she wanted to speak with him more, he always listened to her, and the way he smiled and nodded as she explained something, made her feel as though he truly cared. Kissing him was something Sigyn felt she could never get enough of.

They only ever kissed before during intimacy, this kiss was different, Loki was not trying to initiate anything, merely convey his feelings. When finally, they ceased, Loki put his forehead against hers, 'I fear I had fallen for you somewhat after our first encounter, on the second, it became clear how much so, but now, with all that has happened, with everything that is, I fear I am starting to realise just how deeply I care for you.'

'I know.' She confessed. 'I...It's not supposed to happen like this, is it? Feel so strongly for someone I know for such a short period of time?'

Loki looked to her stomach, to where he was certain, by lack of movement, their children slept. 'I wish this was different, I wish I had been able to do this right.'

'There is no way, you are not of noble blood, it would never have happened that way.' Sigyn stated. 'But I don't regret it.' He frowned at her. 'If I had the power of time travel, I would still have gone this path….though I would not have waited so long to tell you.'

'You did not have much of a choice. You must have been terrified.'

'I was in denial, for days, but it did not change what is.' She shrugged. 'Let's go, Anastasia likes an early dinner and I know you are hungry.'

'I am starving.' Loki concurred, taking her hand and following her.


	16. Chapter 16

'You seem lost, Ducky.' Loki turned to see Anastasia behind him. 'Are you alright?'

'Good, fine, but yes, lost.' He smiled with embarrassment.

'Where is Sigyn?'

'Sleeping.'

'Good, so you and I can speak alone, follow me.' She smiled in a manner that though Loki was scared as to what she would say, he knew it could not be too bad and did as she requested.

It had been six weeks since they came to Anastasia's and in that time, Sigyn had been seen by a healer who, unbeknownst to any other than Anastasia, Sigyn and Loki, was conversing, via Sigyn's magic and Heimdall's assistance, with Eir in the palace on Asgard, so to help her along as carefully as possible. With the added knowledge of Loki's parentage, at least regarding one parent, they were able to alter her treatment and care accordingly. As a result, Sigyn was beginning to suffer painful backache as the children in her grew well and her body became almost comical as she altered to carry them. But in that time, Loki had been very attentive to her and seldom left her side for fear she would require him, leaving no chance for the older woman to suss out the man that fathered her Goddaughter's children.

They sat on a terrace across from one another. 'Don't look so scared, I just want to get to know you a little better, you are, after all, very special to my little Sigyn, anyone who is special to her is a person who is special to me.'

'What would you like to know?' Loki was a little scared, wanting to see just what punishment she was going to give.

'Do you miss your parents?'

That question startled Loki somewhat, he was not expecting her to ask such a thing. 'Yes.' He answered quickly. 'Very much. I think about them every day, I worry about my father, will he be able to keep the forge going alone, and of my mother, I miss them terribly.'

'Would you rather be home with them?'

'I wish I could say yes, but no, Sigyn needs me, our children need me, and I want to be with them, I only wish we could all be together. I wish my mother would be readying for her grandchildren, she would do everything she could to help Sigyn, I wish I was working with my father and be able to tell him my worries about my abilities as a father and partner.'

'Is that what you see Sigyn as, your partner?'

'I...I am not sure. I feel….'

'You love her?' Anastasia hampered a guess.

'Yes, I do.' Loki confessed.

In their time on Alfheim, Loki and Sigyn got to know one another more, and in doing so, they became even closer. They were intimate a few times a week, and every time, Loki fell more and more in love with her. The more she smiled at him, the more he wanted her smile. She did not see herself as above him, in fact, he often forgot her royal status.

'Good. I believe the best way to raise a child is in a loving home when parents care for one another, it gives the right message to their children. Though in many cases, children are better with one happy parent than two unhappy ones, these little ones will need a lot of love and care. Something she could never have given them fully in that palace.'

'Is...does Sigyn really have such a bad relationship with the Allfather?'

Anastasia scoffed. 'She doesn't even have a bad one, she has none.' The woman declared. 'My nephew never once bothered to learn to be a father to a daughter, had he done so, he would have realised the worth of her, and indeed, realise how incredible she is. Sigyn is incredibly talented, and no doubt, you realise the sheer level of work she put into her seidr.'

'She informed me of what is expected to better yourself at it, yes.'

'And Sigyn has excelled, she surpassed her mother, one of the greatest of all time and she is not even a thousand. Her children, your children, are able to grow so healthily as a result of it, and it will keep her safe when the birth comes.'

'What will we do when that happens?'

'Unbeknownst to the Allfather and indeed, the Allmother; the guardian, Heimdall, has great affection for Sigyn, she has always been one to think of him, and as it happens, he feels she reminds him a lot of a sister of his that has sadly long since passed. Sigyn and he converse through her seidr and his abilities, he is how Eir is getting a lot of what is required sent to us here. When the time comes, Eir will use the Bifrost to come here and aid us with these little ones. Norns, I do wish she would let us know what she is having, I want to get started with my spoiling.'

Loki smiled. 'If Odin finds out?'

'Heimdall will be forced to pay for his betrayal, as will Eir, I will be forced to retire to far smaller lodgings.' She looked at Loki's shocked face. 'My nephew is, for lack of a better description, a bigoted prick, he will not accept he is wrong in his dealings with this situation and in no way will he accept that Sigyn deserves to feel love. This could all be so different if he even learned to love her.'

'She tries so hard to please him, to the detriment of her own happiness, but if what she says to be is true, you can see he has no interest in seeing how incredible she is, even if he had both his eyes he would not see it.'

'In some ways, he is able to see many things, he has seen so much of the realms, but with Sigyn, he is truly blind.' Anastasia nodded. 'But she has us.'

'I will stay with her and the children, no matter what.'

'I know you will, Duckie.' She winked at him.

'What about Prince Thor?' Anastasia frowned. 'Does he or even the Allmother have anything to say about all of this?'

'Thor is off-realm acting the idiot, he probably has no idea, as for Frigga, I like her, I always have but she is failing Sigyn here, but I think she knows that, deep down.'

On Asgard, far away from others, Frigga looked at the small stuffed toy that Sigyn had on her dresser, it was tattered and severely aged, but she remembered the day that Thor gave it to his little sister, the sheer joy on her face as brought it everywhere with her, She hoped that Sigyn was safe and that the boy, the young man she knew nothing about bar his parentage, was with her. She thought of how she protected Loki from being exposed and wondered what that said of their relationship before she looked at the toy again and wondered if she had kept it to hopefully give to her own child someday.

'Leave me alone.'

Loki looked at Sigyn sadly. Of late, her ankles had swollen, her breasts were leaking milk and her back ached, meaning she felt terrible and uncomfortable. 'Let me look after you.' He requested. 'I want to help make you comfortable.'

'Well, the best way to do that is to get a rusty blade and cut that thing off yourself for getting me like this.'

Loki winced slightly at the idea before walking over to her and gently rubbing the base of her back. 'Talk to me.'

'I want my home, I want my old rooms, I want….to not be here.'

Loki kissed her shoulder. Though she had almost another two months to go, it was clear that Sigyn was beginning to nest for their children's arrival. If something was not to her specification she was upset by it, and her meticulousness was in itself, upsetting her. 'I know.'

'Loki?' He made a noise to tell her he was listening. 'Are you here because you actually like me or are you only here out of a sense of duty?'

Loki knew she had been wondering this, and wondered himself when she would brave asking it. 'I want to be with you.' He turned her to face him. 'I adore when we talk, how much passion you have for your seidr, I feel it for my own passions, I love the time we spend together, I feel like we truly are well suited.' She looked at him sceptically. 'I love being around you, I only wish I could…I wish we were on Asgard, in my home, with my parents, they would show you how a family is supposed to be, and how you are very much worthy of love.' Sigyn shook her head slightly. 'Sigyn?' She looked up at him, realising he had a very stressed look on his face. 'I love you.' She stared blankly at him. 'I felt strongly about you since the beginning, but now, after all this time getting to know you, watching you protect our children, care for them, I...I am making an utter fool of myself, but I love you.' He chuckled slightly. 'How pathetic am I, I have fallen for the princess, that is not the least bit cliche, the commoner, falling for the royal.'

'I think usually it is a female commoner in the stories.' Sigyn commented almost stupidly as she tried to process what he just said.

'Well, we had to have some difference.' Loki joked before clearing his throat.

'Loki?' He could hardly look at her. 'I…' She leant in, her forehead against his as she closed her eyes and braced herself. 'I love you, too.'

Anastasia realised that Sigyn and Loki needed time to bond further and see if their affections could be allowed develop, so she sent them to a small farmhouse she had for a week, hidden in the forests that she informed them that no one, not even the great Allfather, knew about.

For the entirety of the week, Loki and Sigyn never left the dwelling, instead, they spent the majority of their time in their bed, seeing how often they could fill themselves with their passion for one another. Loki also took the opportunity to show Sigyn that even though she felt gargantuan because of the pregnancy, he still found her attractive. By the time they got back in the carriage, they were almost comically exhausted, both falling asleep as soon as the horses began to move.

When the carriage came back to Anastasia's lands, they were woken by the sound of someone shouting at the couch. Terrified, they opened the door to see Anastasia's maid rushing towards them. 'They know, go back to the villa, go.' Was all she said. The coachman did not need to be told twice and turned the carriage, heading back to where they had come, Loki and Sigyn looking out the window every other moment to see if they were being followed.


	17. Chapter 17

Anastasia sat in her chair looking at her nephew. 'You're getting fatter, if that is even possible.'

'How are you not dead yet?'

'I will outlast you, if only out of spite.'

'Where is she?' Odin half asked, half demanded.

'Who?'

'There are a lot of things I can call you that are unpleasant, Anastasia, but stupid is not one of them, you know well I am referring to Sigyn.'

'She's not here.'

'That, I gathered for myself, so where is she?'

'I honestly do not know where she is. But were I to know, you are the last being on the Nine Realms I would tell.' The old woman growled. 'To cast your own daughter to Jotunheim, when you know well that Laufey has sworn vengeance.'

'It is not your concern.'

It is when she turns up here, tired, hungry and scared.' Anastasia snarled back.

'She would not have needed to do so if she…'

'Had had any semblance of love and affection from her father that would have caused her to not seek it elsewhere.' Anastasia interrupted. 'If you had ever shown that girl any form of attention that was not to belittle her on the basis of her gender, she would not be in this position.'

'So this is my fault?' Odin scoffed. 'Her actions with that...boy is my fault?'

'When did you ever tell her how intelligent she is, how beautiful she is, how powerful her seidr is, of course when some boy would come along and show her attention, show her affection a male has never given her before, she would not know how to react other than what she thinks men want? You never taught her what she should look for in men.' Anastasia turned to Frigga. 'I always thought you to be an intelligent and formidable woman, Frigga, why did you not fight harder for her?' Frigga held her head in shame. 'You love her, which is far more than this fool ever has done, but not enough to fight for her, truly fight for her.'

'Her tricks, her actions before now….'

'Are you saying you renounce her, that the act of carrying child casts her from being your daughter?'

'She has threatened this family's strength, our name…' Odin growled.

'I think an unplanned pregnancy does nothing to tarnish a name in comparison to your actions.' Anastasia scoffed. 'How many pregnant women, children and other such innocent souls died as a result of your actions, dear nephew, or did you think that any that recalled just how you built your palace of gold was dead and gone, because I am still here, and by Norns do I remember the sea of blood you spilled, even by the time you got to her age and to have the audacity to suggest that Sigyn is the one of wrong in our name is utterly laughable.' Odin swallowed, his guilt for the actions of his youth came to his face. 'Your youth was spent taking life, your daughter has created it.'

Odin looked to Frigga, who seemed to almost agree with Anastasia. 'The past cannot be changed, I have had to live with the actions of my youth, Sigyn is not being shown the consequences of hers.'

'Sigyn, on my last seeing her, was suffering backache, is feeling incredibly lonely and grasps fully the gravity of this.'

'She has run off…'

'Because you locked her in her room and threatened Loki.' Anastasia countered. 'So what made you think to look here?'

'Who else would she turn to only the one that most condoned her actions in the past, and who condones them still.'

'She made a mistake, Odin. She tried to ensure this would not happen, those two never knew the truth and you want to punish them for it.'

'Where is she, Anastasia?' Anastasia looked at Frigga. 'She needs to see a healer.'

'She has been seeing one, or did you think I would not have the poor girl be looked after.'

'She will need somewhere safe to birth, with well-qualified people.'

'She has had such here.' Anastasia gave nothing away. 'Use your own seidr, you will see they are gone with over a week, they are not here.' Anastasia watched her maid come in and give the faintest of nods. 'Nor shall they. I gave them what they needed and told them not to tell me, not until after the babes are born.'

'We will find her.' Odin swore.

'I know you will, but before you do, I hope you will realise between now and then that you have your daughter fleeing for the lives of her children.'

'By fleeing, she put them at risk.' Odin snarled, rising to his feet. 'I should make you pay for this.'

Anastasia rose to her feet, and though she was nowhere near the size of her nephew, she stood tall. 'Try it, I dare you.'

Odin's angry facade fell, knowing he could not intimidate her. 'You do not realise the severity of this situation. I need her to see sense.'

'You saw fit to cast your daughter to Jotunheim, she had to face Laufey, who knew her to be your daughter, alone and unaided, I do not think it is Sigyn that needs to see sense.'

'He….?' Frigga's heart felt like it stopped. Even Odin seemed shocked by that.

'She was able to talk herself into safe passage.' Anastasia informed him. 'The daughter of his sworn enemy was able to convince Laufey, King of the Jotnar, to give her safe passage. You think her useless, how would your beloved Thor have handled that?'

'Considering he could more than likely sense the children in her are of his line.' Anastasia frowned at Odin. 'The boy, Laufey is his sire.'

Anastasia was rarely startled by anything, but that statement left her speechless.

'Sigyn, are you….?'

'My stomach hurts.'

'The babies?'

'They are moving a lot, there isn't enough room.' She groaned as she tried to get comfortable.

Loki looked out the window again. 'Do you think they will find us?'

'My father and mother don't know about this place, so no, I don't think they will come looking or us, and no way will Anastasia tell them.' Sigyn groaned as she crawled onto the bed and tried to get comfortable. Loki looked at her pitifully as she gently got on her side, her back aching terribly. He went over to the bed and got on behind her, rubbing her back for her. 'I want them out.'

'They need to be in there a little longer.' Loki soothed.

'What am I going to do when the time comes for them to come out?'

'Well, nature usually sees to that.'

'But they are getting big, what if I can't get them out, what if I cannot do it?'

Loki kissed her head. 'You are so strong, you can do this. I am here for you, no matter what.'

'I love you, Loki.'

'I love you too.'

'After these two come out…'

'Yes?'

'You are never touching me again.' She whimpered as another stab of pain went through her back.

Loki's brows rose at the idea. 'I will never touch you without you allowing me.' He promised.

For another month, Loki and Sigyn hid in the second home and for the entire time, Sigyn was restless, it was as though she could not settle until she knew Odin was no longer scouring Alfheim for her. She felt as though she needed to be ready to flee at any time. Any unexpected noise got the same response from her, loud or quiet, she was always on alert, something that upset the babies and meant she could never rest at all. Loki too was on edge.

'You need to rest.' He insisted as he watched her pace.

'They are going to be here soon, we don't even have a way to cloth them.'

'Sigyn, please….'

'He is still near here, I can sense him. Loki, I...I am so scared.'

Loki looked sadly at his pregnant, frantic partner. He wanted to tell her it was alright, she was overreacting, but he could not guarantee that she. His mother had said to him once that pregnant women were far more sensitive to the world, to listen to their intuition, and that resounded with him. If Sigyn said she sensed the Allfather, she sensed him. 'We will overcome whatever challenges we face.' He promised, putting his hand on her stomach and feeling a nudge from one of their children. 'It will be okay.'

It occurred as they slept. Odin tugged and tugged at little threads of information and finally, the situation began to unravel. He had sent Frigga back to Asgard, knowing she would not be able to remain emotionless. He found out where they were and went there. As soon as he entered the dwelling, he could sense his daughter's seidr. Odin made it all the way to their room without issue, seeing his daughter, curled up against a man she was not supposed to be near enraged him.


	18. Chapter 18

Loki was the first to wake, stretching slightly as his arm felt numb from the manner he had it around Sigyn. He looked at her and began to feel even more concerned. In the past week, she had ballooned in size, the babies had moved in some manner and in doing so, had caused her to not even be able to stand without assistance, such was the difference in her centre of gravity. It was clear they would not be much longer, which worried them, as they had not seen a healer since before they fled her aunt's.

He stretched again, trying his best not to wake her, but he realised a moment later that she was awake, but not even daring to breathe. 'Sigyn? Is it the babies?'

'He's here.' She began to shake in fear. 'Loki, he's here, he was in our room, I can sense him, he's downstairs.' She whispered. 'Go.'

'What?'

'Leave, I can get you out the window with my seidr, go, run.' She pleaded.

'Are you insane, I cannot just leave you here?'

'You cannot stay, he may go mad.'

'Sigyn, I am not leaving you here, like this, to face him alone, that is madness.'

'He will not harm me. Yell, bellow and bluster yes, but not harm.'

'I am not leaving you.' Loki rose from the bed and threw on a tunic and pants before walking out of the bedroom and down the stairs, ignoring her pleas to return. He inhaled deeply as he heard someone rise to their feet in the living area and walked in.

Odin was a formidable being, even in older age. He glared at Loki as he stood to full height, causing the young man to realise just how big the king was. 'I don't know whether you are foolish or brave.'

'I always thought them very much skirting alongside one another.'

'Perhaps.' Odin acknowledged. 'You have some neck even looking me in the eye, Boy. After all you have done.'

'I would never have run, but for the suddenness of the information given to me and Sigyn's persistence.'

'It is Her Highness to you. She may be disgraced, but she is still far above your station.' Odin snarled. 'After you soiling her….'

'Technically, I soiled him.' Odin looked at the door on hearing his daughter's voice. Loki rushed to it as soon as he realised she was there and helped her into the room. 'Hello, Father.'

Odin felt almost like baulking. Her stomach was nothing short of gargantuan. It was clear the children she carried we strong and big and against her frame, there was no manner in which to pretend she was not close to birth. 'Look at you.'

'I would, but I cannot even see all of myself in a mirror these days.'

Odin shook in anger. 'Give me one reason why I should not obliterate you right now.' He looked at Loki as he spoke.

'Because if you do, I will do everything in my power to show the realms your actions before you ever even have time to aim Gungnir to do the same to me. And then what will happen to your great allies, the Light Elves and the Vanir will not stand for that, you know how they feel of justice, you know they will assist your enemies, both on Asgard and beyond to take you down. They will say the power went to your head, that you are madder than Old King Richard of Vanaheim.' She swore.

Odin's nostrils flared. 'You have some nerve to make such threats.'

Sigyn stood tall. 'It is no threat, but a promise.'

'The one trait you possessed that was ever honourable was your loyalty, and you cast that aside now, for this…..runt.'

'I cast aside my loyalty to you because you never had any for me. I cast it off because you are not worthy of my loyalty. Why should I put you above my children? You, who never once bothered to try and be a true father to me.'

Odin glared at her, noting how Loki seemed to stay beside her, ready to assist her if needs be. Rather than refute her words, he chose to ignore them. 'You are leaving, immediately.' He tapped Gungnir on the ground and the pair ended up being fully clothed, though there was a significant difference that both realised immediately as Sigyn stumbled slightly. A thick choker type necklace was around Sigyn's neck, causing her to feel as though at any moment, she would not be able to breathe. 'That will keep that seidr of yours contained until we get back.'

'She needs it.' Loki declared, holding her against him. 'She…'

'Is not your concern anymore.' Odin growled. 'Guards!' A moment later, two Einherjar entered the building, looking at their king for further instruction. 'Take him back to the palace, place him in a cell until I can speak further with him.' Loki stared in shock as he processed Odin's words.

'He did nothing illegal.' Sigyn argued.

'He fled the realm when he was being searched for.' her father reminded her.

'He never even was told that, he never had a choice, this was my doing, not his.'

'You keep saying this as though he had no ability to decline the situation.' Odin countered. 'I will be dealing with you in due course, as soon as this mess is over, but for now, you are to get into the carriage with me before I lose my temper.' He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from Loki, who was immediately held fast by the two guards, looking at her as he pulled to get free, but unable to do so as Odin pulled her out of the dwelling and into the royal carriage. With her collar on, Sigyn was unable to fight him, her current condition making it so her body was unable to deal with it.

In the carriage, she refused to look at her father as she felt his power encasing them in the carriage, preventing her from being able to do anything to get out, and indeed, if she was to wager, prevent others from seeing her condition, if not her in entirety.

They had made it back to Asgard before Odin even said anything more to her. She looked out the window sadly at Heimdall who knew better than to look at the carriage as it passed, she stared at the city as it became larger and larger, the closer they came to it. 'When they are born, you are to be wed to a Lord, you will not make mention of this incident and you will continue as though it never happened.' He stated factually.

'It will be difficult to explain to a Lord as to how there are two little children running around, don't you think?' Sigyn scoffed. 'Sorry husband, just ignore them, they are only my children.'

Odin scoffed before looking at her seriously. 'You cannot honestly think you will be raising those children, do you?' Sigyn's face told him his answer. 'Absolutely not. They will be dealt with and you will not have anything to do with them. You cannot think to bring them into your mess.'

'But they are my children…I am their mother.' Sigyn argued.

'You are too young and too naive if you think you are the right person to raise them, look at all you have done, you would bring them into that? They deserve able parents, ones that can care for them and know what they are doing, who can provide for them.'

'Because a palace cannot provide for children? We have no room or ability to afford to tend to them?' Sigyn scoffed. 'What happens when I marry this lord then, what if, within three months of the babies being born and my being wed, I am pregnant again, would that child be taken away on the basis I am too young? Why have we nursemaids in a palace with no children?' She demanded.

'You are in no fit position to raise them yourself and you can be damn sure not one nursemaid would be permitted to so much as look at the little beasts.'

'So that is it, the fact they have some Jotnar blood, that is what this boils down to. You rather they never know their parents than have there be any acknowledgement that your grandchildren have some ice blood in them.'

'They are not my grandchildren.'

'Am I not your daughter? If so, then them being my children means that yes, they are your grandchildren, why are you so averse to that, if you want to talk facts like my age and marital status, then talk about how they are biologically of this family.'

'They are nothing more than Laufey's runt son's filthy offspring.'

Sigyn stared at her father in shock. 'Laufey…? Loki is Laufey's son?' She recalled the odd manner in which Laufey looked at Loki in their exchange, the knowing look in his eye. She had assumed it was because he sensed the Jotnar blood in Loki when perhaps he recognised more than that.

'Exactly, that is why we cannot have anyone know about them, they are a sign of terrible things.'

'Yes, I hear reconciliation and moving forward are terrible things to allow happen, up there with war and famine.' Sigyn's tone was deadpan, but the sarcasm dripped from every word.

'You have no idea what you have done.'

'I had no idea who he was, and for that matter, neither does he. And that is not realm ending, it doesn't matter who the grandsire of these two are.'

'You are not having anything to do with them, I forbid it.'

Sigyn leant forward slightly. 'Then you will have to pry them from me because I will fight it.'

'You will, whether you wish to or not.' Odin promised. The carriage stopped and the door opened. Sigyn looked at her father. 'They will see you as injured and ill, sound like it.' was all he said before he exited.

Sigyn said nothing and followed him, barely able to move as she waddled in, her hand on her back as she tried to prevent herself losing her balance. It took her a considerable time to get through the halls and to the private quarters of the palace. When she did so, Odin stood waiting for her, her mother looking at her in shock as she finally made it to the room, having assumed Odin had not found her. Frigga rushed over to her, her eyes filled with tears, partly in relief, partly in shame. 'Look at you.'

'I can't help but look at me.' Sigyn shrugged. 'I need to sit down.'

'You will stand until you are told otherwise.' Her father declared.

Sigyn defiantly looked him in the eye as she leant down, one knee at a time to the floor before allowing gravity do as she needed and sat her down. 'I have two part Aesir, part Jotnar and part Vanir infants nearly fully developed in my womb, when I say I need to sit, what I am saying is I am unable to continue to stand, my seidr was what was keeping me from being like this for weeks, without it, I am forced to be like this. You make demands I cannot possibly adhere to and then get angered when I fail to adhere to them.'

'You need to see a healer.' Frigga began.

'I do.' Sigyn did not even argue with her mother, relieved at the idea of seeing how her children were faring. 'What of Loki?'

'You honestly are concerned with him now?' Odin snapped. 'You will never set eyes on the miscreant again.'

Sigyn swallowed. Loki had been the only being to seemingly care for her for no personal gain. He always showed her kindness and care and what she hoped was love, to think she would not see the handsome man she had become a mother by felt like a blow in the gut. 'I…' She winced as she felt herself cramp.

'"I" nothing.' Odin snarled. 'You have done enough, said enough. You have orchestrated a great blow to this family.'

'I have been Aesir, I have faltered, but I have not caused us to fall into ruin, you can cease the dramatics.' She rolled her eyes as her mother did so many times before as she spoke.

'Get to your rooms, immediately.' Her father ordered.

'I would be there already if I was able to access my seidr, yet all things considered, it will be five minutes alone before I get off this floor.'

'You had no right sitting down.'

'I have no right falling down, ergo my sitting down. Mother, you gave birth to Thor, explain to your husband that carrying around small Aesir inside you is not easy, then consider explaining I have two in me.' Sigyn slowly moved as she attempted to get to her feet again. Frigga swallowed as she watched the sheer inability of her usually agile and swift daughter try to do something as simple as getting to her feet. In the end, she insisted on helping. Her eyes on the sheer size of Sigyn's stomach as she did. 'Thank you. I am going to need to rest now, could you ask Eir to come whenever she can, I have not seen a healer in weeks.'

'What?' Frigga looked at her worriedly.

'Well, you went to Aunt Ana's so she was too fearful to risk you having someone know she sent a healer to me and to give my whereabouts to you, so no healer.'

'But….you needed…'

'To be safe.' Sigyn finished.

'You think me dramatic.' Odin scoffed.

'You imprisoned a young man for committing no crime, you used royal resources to scour realms for your daughter for fear she would what, be happy? I don't think you get to call me dramatic.' She winked as she slowly made her way from the room.

'Imprisoned?' Frigga questioned.

'He did….things, with the princess of Asgard and he fled.' Odin explained.

'As stubborn as our daughter is being, she is being truthful, he committed no crime, Odin.' he grunted in displeasure. 'We need to talk about Sigyn.'

'Are we not speaking of her now?'

'Odin….she cannot birth those children. She is too big, if their size does not kill her, exhaustion will.'

'She had the most prestigious and able healer in the realms here and she left, she made this choice, not us.' Odin dismissed.

Frigga's shock at his words caused her to remain silent for a moment. 'So, out of anger, you are fine with our daughter dying? The idea that this will kill her does not bother you?'

'What do you want me to say, Frigga?'

'Anything, please, our daughter may die because of this, how can you not care?'

'What would you have me do?' Odin demanded, 'I cannot rectify this, none of us can.'

'Give her her seidr, she needs it to give her more strength, she cannot walk properly for Valhalla's sake.'

'You know she will use it to do something to get to him or get herself out of here, here is where Eir is, here is where she has the best chance of surviving this mess. I am not doing this to hurt her, her hating me now hurts, but I am doing this because I want her to survive, I want her to get through this.'

Frigga said nothing more, Odin would not change his mind, and in his mind, he was guaranteeing the best way to heighten her chance of survival.


	19. Chapter 19

It took Sigyn a solid twenty minutes to get to the royal corridor and by then she was panting and in pain from it all. She leant against a pillar, inhaling deeply as she rubbed her back when she heard someone running towards her. Looking up, she almost felt like crying when she saw Eir rushing towards her.

'Norns, look at you.' She knelt in front of her and checked Sigyn's stomach before pulling up her dress slightly, revealing her very swollen feet. 'You are going to go any day now and here you are just walking…' Eir was about to scold her while looking her in the eye, but her focus went to the choker around her neck. 'Oh, Norns.'

'It feels odd, like they are pressing down, like….'

'You need to go to the bathroom but there is a lot of pressure against the whole underneath and not just your bladder?' Eir explained. With her lips between her teeth, Sigyn nodded. 'They are engaged, you have days at most.'

'I'm not ready.' Sigyn felt fear fill her, she had been preparing herself for weeks for the inevitable. Loki was going to assist her as much as possible, her seidr would also come into play, but here, she knew she was alone and with no Loki or seidr, she was genuinely terrified.

'I know this is not what we had been preparing you for, but it is the situation now, so we have to move forward, alright?' Sigyn nodded. 'I need to get you off your feet and in a bed immediately.' Eir ushered her aides forward, aiding Sigyn until she was in her rooms, her maids shocked to see her after such a length of time and with a stomach that could only be described as colossal.

When she was placed on the bed, she hissed and groaned as the pressure in her pelvis seemed to almost intensify. 'When….How will I know…?'

Eir gave a small chuckle. 'Oh, you will know.' She promised. 'For now, you are to remain with your feet up, your legs being swollen is not good for you, you need to try and get them down, you also need to rest, it will be a long and gruelling process. Did you do everything I had the other healer instruct you to do?' Sigyn nodded. 'Good, continue like that and we will have these two in your arms very soon.' Sigyn swallowed, remembering her father's words, how she would never mother her children. Inhaling deeply, she reminded herself to remain calm and did the breathing exercise that Eir had given her as the healer went about getting what she needed to look after Sigyn.

For three days, Loki sat in the cell Odin had placed him in without any saying a single word to him. To his shock, he was awarded books and three good meals a day as well as a bed, something he realised the crammed other cells all lacked. He read the books, one of which, he realised was well read, he studied the severely cracked spine with keen interest.

'It is Sigyn's.' He looked up to see an elegant woman standing in his cell. He knew immediately that though he never saw her up close, it was the Allmother, he could see so many of Sigyn's features in her. 'Hello.'

'Your Majesty.' He bowed slightly. 'I did not hear…'

'Oh, you wouldn't.' She gave a small sly smile. 'No one would, except, of course, Sigyn.'

'Even without her seidr?' Loki could not remain calm, his thoughts were of nothing but the woman carrying his children.

Frigga's smile fell. 'Yes, it is, after all, merely locked in.'

'How is she?'

Frigga looked at his pleading face, studying it carefully. 'She is on bedrest, but refuses to let me see her.' Loki nodded. 'You think her choice a good one?'

'I think it is her choice to make and it is somewhat justifiable. She has felt so betrayed by her family, it makes sense she would not want anyone from it around her. I have little doubt she feels she cannot trust anyone now.'

'I am her mother.' Frigga seemed hurt by his explanation.

'I think she felt most betrayed by you. The Allfather, she seemed to expect nothing more or less from, but I think she was hoping her mother could help her through the process.'

'It is difficult…'

'It may shock you to know, Allmother, that the lower classes see young, unwed motherhood as unwanted position also, but I have witnessed it first hand with the young lady across the street and her mother was the greatest aid she had, helping her along the whole thing, even caring for the child after it was born so the girl could work, she owns a bakery now, married a man who was not the father and had three more. She had the bakery before he came, in fact, he was a customer. I do not think her to be too badly off, and she swore it was her mother assistance that allowed her success.'

'A young baker is not the same as a princess.'

'I agree, the princess has far more resources to hand,' Loki gave a small unapologetic smile. 'Sigyn has been trying to ready herself for their arrival, she wanted nothing more than to be in her room, in her home for this, supported, but everything else she wanted, it has not come to be.'

Frigga was about to say more when she froze, listening to a call out from the guards and then fizzling into nothing. Loki was slightly startled by her sudden disappearance but he had little time to concern himself with it before he noticed a lone figure walking toward his cell. The Allfather was in nothing more than a few robes, no armour, no regalia, yet he gave an air of royalty that Loki was certain could never be learned, it had to be within you from birth. He stood tall and watched as the Allfather walked through the golden shield as though it was not even there, even though he had witnessed a man being severely electrocuted by it in another cell. For several moments, no words were shared between the pair.

'You are free to leave this evening.' Odin stated. Loki stared at him in confusion. 'After a long and thorough discussion with your adoptive parents, I have indeed been able to ascertain that my hooligan daughter never informed you as to her identity and forced you from your home, after placing both of them under a spell.'

Loki swallowed at how coldly Odin spoke of Sigyn. 'And what about….?'

'My daughter is not your concern any longer, neither are those…'

'What will happen them?'

'The same as what happened to you, given to those able to tend to them.'

Loki's eyes widened. 'What…?'

'Sigyn has finally realised that she is not fit to tend to them as they require, and has sought for them to be given a better life, she is also to be wed as soon as she is recovered from the birth. She has finally seen sense.'

Loki could not fully grasp what Odin was saying. 'No, she would never…'

'She will have her seidr back and I am giving her what she wanted all along. She has accepted it, but the rules were the children were to go to a better-suited home, and she is not to be in contact with you.' Loki swallowed. 'She is to continue her life as though this mishap never happened, it has caused enough hassle as it is. I suggest you do the same. Do not attempt to contact my daughter by any means.'

'And my children?'

Odin's lip curled up for a moment in contempt. 'I will leave that to whoever takes them.'

'I want them.' Odin's brows rose. 'I will take them.'

'Absolutely not, you are more unfit than my daughter to tend to them.' Odin scoffed.

'I have family support, something Sigyn does not have.' Loki stated back, his tone challenging.

'And you know this?' His tone condescending.

'My parents would assist, I would wager everything I would ever have on it.' Loki declared. 'I will take them, I am their father.' Odin's face contorted slightly at that. 'And they will have a loving home, with family.'

Odin said nothing for a moment, contemplating the idea. 'If you do that, you will be forced off Asgard, never to return. Where would you go?'

Loki's jaw clenched. 'Alfheim.'

'Why there?'

'I had started a small name for metalwork design in our time there, I can build on that, make a decent living, make money to provide for my children.'

Odin contemplated his words. 'And you swear to never contact Sigyn again, not about anything to do with them?'

Loki could not help but notice the contempt Odin held for his daughter's children. 'I swear.'

'Very well, on their birth, they will be given to your family, on that same night, you will be given a carriage to the Bifrost, never to set foot on Asgard again.' Loki nodded. 'You will also be unable to reveal to anyone who their mother is, understood?' Though it pained him to do it, Loki nodded again. As soon as he did, Odin tapped Gungnir on the ground and the gold shielding fell. 'Guard!' for a moment, Loki was worried Odin was about to go back on his word. 'Escort this man back to the city.'

Loki said nothing more as he walked passed the King, wanting nothing more than to fight him on Sigyn, but he knew he would lose that fight, not because the Allfather was right and he was wrong, but because of Odin's power, he would lose his freedom again and the chance to care for his children. Loki would find a way to get in contact with Sigyn again, he swore it, if just to know she consented to what was happening. He did not think that she had agreed, but given that he knew she would want her father's approval and her seidr, did she want it more than their children, he was uncertain.

Sigyn groaned, her spine felt as though it was on fire. She wanted nothing more than to die or snap her spine at the very least, it was agonising. Tears of pain tricked down her face as the pain seared through her body. 'Celia?' One of her maids came rushing into the room, shocked to see the state she was in. 'Eir….' The maid rushed from the room. A moment later, Frigga rushed in. 'No, get out.' Sigyn gasped, the feeling in her body becoming more agonising. 'Ah!'

'Your seidr is fighting Gungnir's magic.' Her mother explained, sitting on the side of Sigyn's bed. She went to put her hand on her daughter, but Sigyn, even in her pain, pulled away. 'I need to help you.'

'Then take this off or get away from me.' Sigyn indicated to the collar around her neck.

'I know you are angry with me, Sigyn, but this is for you, your best interests. We want you to be where it is safest for you and the babies.'

'What does it matter when he is insisting they are taken away?'

'Your father does not want this one mistake to cost you everything. They are going to a loving caring home with people who will give them….'

'They are my children, not kittens.'

'You are not in a position to care for them fully, Sigyn, you are too young, one is incredibly hard work, two….I would never have dealt with it.'

'You are you, I am me.' Sigyn spat. 'Perhaps that is why you were only given two singles while I was given this.'

Frigga looked at her daughter's eyes. 'What has happened Sigyn, when did this hate consume you?'

'The day you decided the public appearance of this house mattered more than those in it.' Sigyn snarled, turning away from her, continuing to grunt in pain.

Frigga did not get a chance to respond again before Eir pushed her out of the way and began checking over Sigyn to ensure it was nothing serious. She backed away slowly, her mind replaying her daughter's words as she spoke with the healer, who Frigga watched tried to toy with the collar on Sigyn's neck, her less than polite words telling the Queen her thoughts on Odin's restriction.


	20. Chapter 20

For another two days, Sigyn suffered the pains and aches, moving as much as she could as her back became more and more painful. She also mourned Loki no longer being in her company, his kind words of encouragement as he rubbed her back was something she would happily trade her seidr for permanently as she suffered on, hating her very existence as she awaiting her impending delivery.

Because of the pain in her back, Sigyn did not know what was just pain and what was "false labour pains" so she simply endured. It was in the middle of the night when she woke to a drenched bed she knew it was time. Scared and upset, she called each of her maids, one after another in turn, but none arrived. She even called the guards, but again, none graced her chamber. She felt the pains of contractions continue and become closer together, edging more and more to agonising.

Fearful of what could happen if she was to remain alone, Sigyn acknowledged her best way to guarantee a safe delivery would be to have someone know her current state, and though her original instinct was to seek Loki, she knew he could not help, and though it was not what she wanted, she knew the next person she would need is her mother.

It was hard to get to a sitting position and a badly timed contraction meant she was creased over trying to breathe instead of getting to her feet, but slowly, she finally made her way to them, her wet thighs and legs becoming very cold very quickly. She grunted against the door frame between her sleeping quarters and her front rooms as the next one hit. With a soundness of mind, she felt she should not possess, all things considered, Sigyn was able to ascertain it had been a mere four minutes between the two, she was also concerned it took her that long to cross the room. She held onto the door until it finished before continuing her mission to get across the room. It was slow and tedious, but she hastened herself, not wanting to lose time to another contraction in her room. The contractions were getting longer and the time between them getting shorter meaning she was nearing the birth, and as much as she did not want her mother's help, she feared being alone more. She finally made it to the door and had it opened before the next one hit. It was incredibly painful, more so than any other beforehand, she gripped to door frame but the pain coursing through her caused her to stumble forward, gasping as her knees hit the floor hard.

'Sig?'

Sigyn looked up as tears of pain blurred her vision, the voice added to the blurry blonde in front of her told her who it was. 'Thor?' Her voice was strained even saying his name. She had not been aware that he had even returned, she had no idea when that had happened or if anyone had ever told her.

Thor, because of his Odin's spell, could not see the reason for his sister's pained fall, tried to help her up, only to see she was unable to stand. 'What…?'

'I….Oh Norns, no, no, please no.' Sigyn realised at that moment, Eir was correct, there was no way she was not going to be able to know when it was truly time. Her body begged and screamed at her to ready herself, to bear down and alleviate some of the pressure building in her pelvis as the first baby began to come. 'Thor.'

'Do I need to get Eir? Mother?' He asked, utterly baffled as to what he was facing.

'I need….you to help me.'

'Anything.'

'It's coming.'

'What is?' Thor looked around, his hand going to Mjolnir, ready to fight whatever foe was harming his family.

'The baby.'

That was not something Thor had expected her to say, looking at his sister's abdomen, he could not see any sign as to her being with child. 'Baby, what baby?'

Unable to spend time explaining, Sigyn bore down and allowed her urges take over, using every ounce of force she had to push, sobbing to herself as she realised her body was doing as she asked, her baby slowly beginning to be born.

'Wait, you are having a baby?' Thor finally realised the situation as Sigyn gripped his arm tightly and concentrated on pushing. 'When did this happen? Are you even wed? Why was I not told?'

'No, I...it's complicated.' Sigyn felt as though she was at risk of breaking her own jaw from the force she was clenching her teeth with.

'I don't understand.' Thor admitted, but he took her hand in his and stayed with her. 'Sigyn, what do you need?'

'Loki,' She whispered as she felt the baby begin to come out of her body.

Thor, because of her low volume, did not hear her. Instead, he worried about the situation. 'I'll get Mother.' He tried to rise to his feet once more.

'No please, not her, please, you stay.' Sigyn pleaded.

'Sig, I don't know what is going on, I have no idea what to do.' It was not often Thor admitted to being unknowledgeable on a matter, but considering the severity of the situation, he could not pretend to know what he was doing.

'Stay, please, I need you.' She begged.

Sigyn had not asked Thor for anything since she was about three hundred years old, she was independent and did not think she needed help achieving something, but her pleading with him to remain startled Thor, he had not thought her to be so vulnerable. 'I am going to bring you back to bed, you cannot have a baby in the hallway.' He insisted, scooping her into his arms and rushing her back inside her chambers, realising that there was a need to rushing as he did so. He had barely placed her on the bed when she grunted and pushed with all her might again. Thor winced as she seemed set on crushing his hand with her grip. When it slackened for a moment, he considered the options. 'Sig, you need a healer.'

'They won't get here in time, it's nearly here.' Sigyn dismissed, feeling relief as her body told her the trauma was ending. Again she did what she needed and finally, she felt the baby slip from her body, onto the bed sheets. Covered in sweat, and gasping for air, Sigyn moved her dress to see what lay there as the baby began to cry.

Thor stared at it, flabbergasted, 'It really is a baby.'

'What...what is it?'

'A baby.'

'I know that you buffoon, is it a girl or boy?'

'A boy.' He stated, unconsciously, he scooped the little creature into his arms.

Sigyn sobbed in glee. 'A boy.' She had her arms outstretched.

'What will I…?' Before he could finish the sentence, the doors to the room burst open and Frigga and Odin entered, both in their nightwear. They had hardly analysed the scene in front of them before springing into action.

Frigga rushed forward, using her seidr to cut the cord and put the child in a cloth. 'I will take it,' She insisted to Thor.

'No, I want him.' Sigyn sat forward more, Thor stood confused between the pair.

'Absolutely not,' Odin growled. 'Get it out of here now. Thor, get out and take it with you.'

'No, I want to see him.' Sigyn insisted, trying to get out of the bed.

Thor lingered a moment. 'Get out!' Odin bellowed. The baby screamed in terror at the loud sound and for the sake of the baby, Thor left, listening to Sigyn fight to be allowed a moment with her own child as he did so.

He stood in the front area of his sister's rooms, holding the infant in his arms, pacing simply because he could not bear to stand still, not sure what to do with it. It settled and began to sleep.

'Put it down and fetch a healer.' Thor turned to look at his father. 'Well, get on with it.'

'Put him where? There is no crib here.' Thor looked around. 'There's nothing here for a baby.' Her realised.

'And there will be nothing here, not for this.' Odin insisted.

'What...why not? Why is he not with Sigyn, I thought it was common practice for a mother to be with her child after it is born? Where is the father? Who is the father? What is going on?'

Odin sighed, the sound of more grunts of pain coming from the room, telling them Sigyn was beginning to birth again. He used his own seidr to fetch Eir and looked to Thor. 'Sigyn acted in the least royal manner I can ever try to explain. She got with child while unwed and with nothing more than a commoner.'

Thor looked at the little baby in his arms, his little hand gripping his finger, unable to reach all the way around. 'Are all babies like this?' He asked curiously, trying to remember what Sigyn had looked like as a baby, but there was only a hundred years between them, he could not recall. 'It's a little bluish and it has weird markings.'

'It is not full Aesir….it…...it is part Jotnar.'

Thor stared at his father. 'Jot….Sigyn lay with a Jotnar? Did she consent to this or did some filthy scum….'?'

'Your sister initiated it.' Odin snapped. 'The sire did not even realise who she was. Your sister has a dark depravity to her that I fear we cannot even attempt to comprehend.'

'What is to happen with the baby?'

'It, and it's sibling, will be given to those who want it.'

'It's...there is another?'

'Yes, can you not hear her?' Odin indicated to the door where it was clear Sigyn was in further pain within. 'She decided to get pregnant twice, as though once was not bad enough.'

They were interrupted by the arrival of healers, Eir and her aids rushing passed the men to the bedchambers, another rushing over to take the baby from Thor. For a moment, Thor did not want to hand over the child. 'She asked to hold him.'

'She cannot.' Odin insisted. 'It will only make her suffer more in the end.'

Not knowing how that could happen, considering Sigyn's near-frantic attempts to get to the baby, Thor could not accept what his father was saying and did not hand over the baby. 'I will mind him for another moment.'

'You have no idea what you are doing.' Odin growled.

Thor looked down, the infant asleep in his arms. 'I think I am doing pretty okay, he seems happy.'

'Stop referring to it.'

'He's not an "it" I know he is a he, I saw him be born.'

'You are not supposed to even witness such things.'

'Why not? It is not pleasant but it is indeed the way we are all born.' He looked down at the baby. 'When did Sigyn come in contact with a Jotunn?'

'She found him, in the city.'

'Does he know?'

'Yes, the two of them went off running the realms like the two miscreants they are.' Odin growled. He glared at the baby. 'Get it out of my sight.'

'Father, it's a baby, my nephew, your grand…'

'Do not even finish that word.' Odin hissed, his anger blatant. Thor stared at his father in shock, naturally, he curled the baby into him more to protect him. 'Sigyn's actions have put us all at risk, war could rise once more, all because of some depraved hussy could not keep her legs together.'

Thor swallowed, looking at the baby in his arms. He only knew his nephew with a few minutes, but he loved him dearly, he felt a close tie to him, he wanted to protect him and in time, teach him about the world. His skin was different, Thor's was almost golden, the baby had pale, bluish skin, but he could not see how that changed how they should feel about him, he was their blood. He would war with Jotnar if required, he had been taught of their actions on Midgard when he was nothing more than a baby, but this little one was no warmonger, he was a baby, not half an hour old. 'It does not seem right.'

'Say that when Laufey attacks this palace and goes to slit your mother's throat.'

'Because of a baby?'

'Because they are the key to Asgard's fall from grace and to his ascension to power.' Thor looked at the baby in his arms, unsure how, even with some Jotnar heritage, something so small could initiate such a thing. 'That thing,' Odin snarled, looking at the baby hatefully, 'Is Laufey's biological link to your throne.'

Thor swallowed, looking back to the baby again, realising that the markings he could see, though they differed somewhat from the Jotnar king, were also similar. 'So Helbindi or Býleistr...?'

'There is a third one, one that never was supposed to live, one I brought back to Asgard the time of the war and placed with a family here.' Thor stared at his father. 'I am the reason one is on Asgard. Your sister found him, and the filthy harlot lay with him, resulting in this.' He pointed to the baby. 'And Laufey knows it too.'

'Father, I understand your anger, but please cease calling Sigyn these names,' Thor had always been the first to curse his sister when she pranked him, but he never thought to call her anything as bad as his father was calling her at that moment. 'And stop staring at him like that, it is unsettling me, much less a newborn child.'

'You are being weak.' Odin growled. 'You are letting familial ties blind you to the danger it causes.'

'You say that yet specifically chose to try and motivate hatred of Sigyn by referencing Mother.' Thor pointed out before frowning. 'How does Laufey know?'

'Sigyn went to Jotunheim, she spoke with him and gave her safe passage through to Alfheim, apparently.' Odin's tone told of his distrust for what he was told happened between the Jotnar king and his daughter.

Thor did not know what to think. The idea that his sister simply decided to go to the realm of their sworn enemy seemed highly unlikely, even she would not go that far, he thought, but it seemed even more unlikely that she would cross paths with Laufey and be able to broker safe passage without something from her in return. Knowing more of his nephew's heritage, he studied the infant more, it still clasping to his finger as though trying to connect with him. He was about to argue his sister's side once more when the room door opened again and her voice screeched from within as their mother exited.

'GIVE ME MY BABIES!' Her voice cracked, there was no denying the sheer exhausted agony in it.

Frigga remained stone-faced as she and a healer exited, the latter of which was holding something in a cloth much the same way as Thor was, telling the warrior prince that there was indeed a second baby. 'Thor…?' She looked at her son holding the child in his arms. 'Give it to Gertrude.' The young healer stepped forward.

'What is to become of them?'

'That is irrelevant,' Odin dismissed. 'Go to your rooms.'

Thor looked at his father astounded. 'I am not a child for you to banish to bed merely because I questioned you.' He kept the baby from the woman. 'I am not handing him over if he is going to be mistreated.'

'He is being cared for.' Frigga promised. 'No harm will befall either of these children.'

'No….this is not right.' Thor could not express what was wrong exactly, but it felt wrong. 'They should be with Sigyn, she wants them.'

'She is not fit to raise them.' Odin spat. 'The correct thing to do is guarantee them the healthiest and best upbringing, that is what we are doing now.'

'There is nowhere they will get opportunities like here, this is the Aesir palace.'

'They are not remaining. Give that thing to the healer and once, or else.' Odin snarled with vitriol that startled everyone present and caused both infants to start to cry. In the bewilderment, the King took the unnamed child from Thor and all but thrust it to the healer. 'Get them readied.' He ordered and he turned and walked away.

Thor watched as the healers began to do as demanded. 'Wait.' They paused for a moment. He walked over and looked at the second baby, it was similar to its brother, though its skin was slightly darker, more akin to an Aesir, and its hair, though it had not got much, seemed more brown than black. 'What is it?'

'Another boy.' the healer stated.

Thor said nothing more as he rubbed his finger on the little child's cheek, the infant immediately turning his head to try and see if there was a teat to drink from. Thor swallowed his upset and nodded slightly, the healers taking that as a sign to continue doing as required.

When they were out of sight, he heard his mother inhale a shaky breath and turned to look at her. 'You do not fully understand, Thor.'

'You are right, I do not.' He acknowledged. 'I cannot understand a situation such as this. I heard of fates worse than death, I see today that there truly is such a thing.' He turned to leave.

'It is the right thing to do.'

'The right thing to do is to not have my sister collared like a dog and her two children taken from her when she begged to have them, really? She was in agony during that, I do not see any sign that she was given anything to alleviate her agony. What in that is right to you, Mother?'

'I assisted her with the second through my seidr, it is over now. She can move past this, pretend it never happened.'

'There is no pretending a thing like this never happened.' Thor shook his head. 'I do not know what happened in my absence, but I cannot see Sigyn ever forgiving either of you for this, if she has made a bargain with Laufey, I cannot say I can blame her.' He turned and walked away.

Frigga swallowed, having just bore witness to the decimation of her family. Her daughter begged her to let her at least hold her children for a few moments, but she had denied her, in doing so, with a look of utter betrayal, she resigned herself to never achieving forgiveness from Sigyn as long as she lived and with Thor's reaction, she knew he too would never instill trust in his parents again. She inhaled deeply once more and readied for the impending arrival of the carriage.


	21. Chapter 21

Thor watched from his balcony as the carriage came through the gates of the palace. It was a royal carriage, but with every member of the family in the palace, he knew it could only have one purpose, to remove the two youngest members of it from it. He watched as a woman and a man, both older, exited the carriage and his mother stood to the fore with two healers on either side of her, both holding a small infant in their arms. The pair took the two babies and seemed to be looking at them in a manner that would suggest to Thor that indeed they seemed to be caring of them, but it all felt wrong to him. He swallowed as he watched them be put into the carriage and the door closed and it pulled away. He also watched his mother bow her head slightly after they left. He watched, as the carriage went through the streets of Asgard. A successful warrior is very much alike to a predatory animal, their vision was always focused. He watched the carriage weave through the streets before making its way to the Bifrost, he watched as the Bifrost lit up and then sent those in the carriage, including the infants, off realm. He looked to Sigyn's balcony and bit his lip. Using Mjolnir, he was able to make it over the short distance easily and knocked on the window before opening it. Inside, he heard his sister weeping. Since she was a toddler, Thor could not remember Sigyn crying, but there was no denying her tears at that moment. 'Sig?'

'Leave me alone.'

'Please, talk to me.'

'They took them away. My babies are gone.'

'I know.' He stated defeatedly.

'Mother would not even let me see them, I don't even know what the second one was.'

'A boy, you had two boys.' Thor felt he could not hide that from her. 'I'm so sorry, Sig.'

'I want to die.' he swallowed, knowing that this was no throwaway comment. 'I never even got to hold them.'

'What happened Sig, Father said you went to Jotunheim, that you parlayed with Laufey.'

'Did he tell you the part where he altered the Bifrost as I was fleeing through it so I would land there, miles from anything, in a blizzard, or did he try to imply I went there of my own free will?'

Thor's eyes widened. 'Tell me everything.'

Loki swallowed and forced his tears as he looked at the two little beings in his arms. They were perfect, two almost identical children, only slight differences separated them, they had mostly his features, but there were some likenesses to Sigyn.

'Loki?' He looked at her. 'They need names.'

'We spoke about that.'

'And?'

Loki looked at the one in his left arm sadly. 'Narfi.' Then to the other. 'And Vali.'

'Those are good names.' His father commended.

'I'm sorry, I am so sorry for all the trouble I have caused, but….I couldn't let them be…'

'We know,' Tomás acknowledged. 'And we believe this to be the right thing to do. You are their father, they should be with family.'

'I just….I cannot believe Sigyn would…'

'Loki, they are not with her, perhaps it is best to accept this.' His mother smiled sadly. 'She is a princess, there are other pressures on her.'

'But she loved them.' Loki stated sadly, looking at Vali as he yawned.

'You know the Allfather's rule Loki, no contact, no telling them about her.' Tomás reiterated.

'I know.' Loki forfeited, knowing he could never forget her.

'Sigyn?' Her response was a glare. 'You are needed in the throne room this afternoon.' Her mother stated.

'I don't care.'

'I am not asking, I am saying. Your father needs to discuss a matter with you.'

Sigyn pursed her lips and sighed. 'Fine.'

'Thank you.'

'I better be getting my muzzle taken off.'

'Muzzle?' Sigyn raised her chin, the collar necklace still firmly where Odin had put it before her children were born. 'Sigyn….'

'There is no "Sigyn". I have obeyed, I deserve my seidr back.' She snarled.

Frigga said nothing more on the subject. Since she gave birth, Sigyn was vicious to her, Odin had not braved venturing to her rooms in that time. 'Two sharp.' Sigyn said nothing and looked out the window. 'We found Maria, by the way.' Sigyn gave a smug smile at that. 'A snake, really?'

'I think it apt.'

'It was reversed.'

'I couldn't care less.' Sigyn rose to her feet. In the time since she gave birth, they had gone back to normal, most everything about her did. Her stomach was not back to how it was before, but according to Eir, it would, with time. 'Two then.' She made an ushering wave with her hand and turned away from her mother, forcing the Queen to acknowledge her daughter did not want to speak with her any further and leave.

Two came, and Sigyn forced herself from her rooms to the throne room. When she got there, she noted it was filled with people. That immediately caused her to become wary.

'At last.' Odin's pleased voice made her even more so. 'Having finally made a full recovery after recent ill health, my daughter is able to join us in court once more.' Sigyn could barely stop herself looking at her father in pure hatred, but somehow, she managed it. She gave a tight smile and bent her head slightly. 'Her time in recovery has also led to interesting discussions, she will, as of this day, be permitted to be courted. Should any man of enough standing feel himself worthy, he can attempt to win her affections; any that attempt to force her hand…..my son and I will not take to kindly to should you survive her impeccable fighting skills and seidr.'

Though Sigyn had hidden her disdain and contempt, she was not able to hide her shock at those words. At that exact moment, he looked at her and gave her a nod, a moment later, she felt some of her seidr being released from its binds. She knew her father would not dare allow her enough power to truly be able to do anything, she was aware it was his way of still keeping her reined in. She nodded slightly as a show of gratitude and she stood and waited for the proceedings to be completed.

Court was always dull business. Sigyn was grateful that the day would come and it would be Thor forced to deal with it and not her, but for now, she was forced to, Odin's new sick torture for her, endure hours of petty courtiers bickering, all the time standing next to her mother, she would rather face the Frost Giants again.

She looked over at Thor, who had been her only pillar of support since everything, much to her absolute shock. He listened to her as she told him everything that happened, and though it was clear he did not want to believe their father had banished her to Jotunheim, he knew it was true. He supported her when none other would, he was the only one to pretend like her children existed, he told her every detail he could recall of both of her little boys. She had felt envious that he had been given a chance to hold even one when she never got to even look at them properly, but she took solace that he recognised his nephews.

When it was done, Odin instructed that both his children were to attend dinner that evening with their parents. It had been three months since the birth and none of the family had been eating together since then, Odin insisting on it was something to note. The siblings looked at one another for a moment in concern before doing as their father demanded and following him to the private dining room.

As they walked, Sigyn toyed with her seidr, feeling it course through her again with more strength. She looked at her dress, a dark blue velvet dress and focused on what she wanted. A moment later, she was in a dress of neither blue nor green, but a perfect mixture of both. She looked at it with a sadness that left no one in doubt as to what she was thinking of. But her head rose a little more as she walked on, towards the dining room.

It was usual practice for the family to sit at a long table, Odin and Frigga on opposite ends and Thor closer his father, and Sigyn closer their mother as they ate. When they entered the room, both siblings began to go where they usually sat automatically, it was only when Thor noted what was in the seat he usually sat, he paused. A moment later, Sigyn did the same.

The table was far smaller than usual, far more intimate. With the number of plates that Odin and Thor would accumulate, it was going to be very tight fit by the end of it. The siblings looked at one another, uncertain as to what exactly was occurring.

Odin and Frigga sat facing one another, leaving only the two other seats for Thor and Sigyn, who would have to face one another as a result. It was somewhat uncomfortable to be so close to everyone when Sigyn did not want to be anywhere near her parents at all. As soon as they sat, their food was brought out. Sigyn found herself swallowing hard when her food was put in front of her.

'If it's alright, I will have something else.' She handed the plate to the servant. Her parents watched her carefully as the plate of pureed meat was removed from her hands and something else given instead. She thanked the servant and began to eat without further comment.

'Your father and I were speaking, we need to make a few changes to things and we were hoping the two of you would want to assist.' Both Thor and Sigyn eyed her warily, then their father.

'Oh, for Norn's sake.' Odin growled. 'We are trying to treat you two more as adults and you are now acting as though it is something terrible.'

'It is suspicious timing.' Sigyn looked her father in the eye as she spoke.

Odin said nothing as he clearly stopped himself from saying something. 'Well, it has come to my attention that Hela makes work for ideal beings.' Sigyn's brow rose at that. 'As you can see, you have some seidr back and all things considered, I think it best if, like your brother, you are given the liberty of finding a partner for yourself.'

Sigyn swallowed, recalling the argument where she declared the injustice that she was being given to a Lord, one she did not even know when Thor as not being forced into anything. Odin would not even acknowledge her declaration of unfairness. 'Thank you, Father.' It was more difficult than she would care to admit to say such words to him. In the corner of her eye, she saw her mother nod slightly. Though she felt as though her stomach was clenching, she knew better than to ignore the food in front of her.

Frigga's attempts at getting her daughter to speak with her were less successful than Odins. The face Sigyn gave showed her betrayal and anger at her mother's actions, or inaction as she spat more than once. The majority of the speaking was between herself and Thor, who, to their parents' shock, were acting not as distant as they had in recent years.


	22. Chapter 22

Sigyn sensed the intrusion to her privacy before she saw anyone. When she realised who it was, she was less than pleased. 'Of all the places you would find my brother, I find myself wondering if he is truly lost for you to come here in search of him.' She stated, looking at the blonde warrior in front of her.

'I actually came in search of you, Princess.'

'Out of curiosity, how long did it take you to get here?'

'I thought it one of your usual haunts, according to the Allmother?' Fandral seemed confused as to why he would come to look for her there.

'Well, she's not wrong, but how long did it take you to actually find this part of the palace? I never recall you coming into this library.'

'About twenty minutes, the Allmother told me where it was.'

Sigyn felt her brow raise before she could ever stop it. 'I see. And pray tell, what is it that has you looking for me Fandral, are you in need of something?'

'I wished to speak with you concerning a matter.'

'Because we have always been such close confidentes.' Sigyn responded sarcastically. 'If you are having issues with the better sex, perhaps Sif would be more the one for you to ask, for all her faults, she is still a woman.'

'No, it is nothing like that.'

'Then what, seidr?' Fandral's confused reaction told her once more her assumption was off. 'Well, what is it?'

Fandral looked at her for a moment as though wondering how to broach something before stopping and looked at her more carefully. 'When did you alter in shape?'

'Excuse you?'

'You seem...different.'

'You have ten seconds to explain what the Norns you are talking about or I will turn you into a frog.' She folded her arms and waited. 'Well?'

'You look as though your dimensions have altered, more….adult.'

'As happens with people as they age from teenage to adult, I am sure even you know that basic information.'

'You look….' his gaze fell to her chest, causing her to use her seidr to force him to look her in the eye again, her features telling him how irate she was by his actions. 'I am trying to compliment you.'

'You are failing miserably and it went from borderline rude to utterly unacceptable about ten seconds ago.' She snarled. 'What do you want, Fandral?'

'To request a chance with you.' She stared at him in shock. 'I wanted to know if you were willing to give me a chance.'

'At what?'

'Courting.'

'You, want to try and court me?' She checked, he nodded, causing her to laugh. 'Fandral, you are, without doubt, one of the last men I would ever consider. You are rude, crude, misogynistic, wandering-eyed and just plain never once bothered to speak to me bar to mock me, why in the realms would I ever want to allow myself even consider you?'

Fandral looked a mix of equal measure of insulted and annoyed. 'I am friends with your brother.'

'Well that would be a point in your favour, were you to be courting Thor, but that is not going to work for you with me. All that tells me is you are interested in advancement and my father has made it clear, I am not allowed consider someone only interested in that role.'

'Surely there is advancement enough in simply by being by Thor's side as a close friend for me though? Thor becomes King, his friends, myself included, all reap the benefits without the severe level of protocol you and he endure.' She had to confess, there was truth in that. 'I simply ask because I find you attractive and with what the Allfather stated regarding attempts to find a suitable partner….'

'You thought yourself a catch?'

'I am not the worst.'

'An outstanding recommendation.' Sigyn stated plainly. 'But no, you're not the worst.'

'Were your hips always so….childbearing?'

Sigyn sucked her teeth. 'You had to prove me wrong.' She scoffed. 'I am not sure what you were doing the day you were taught about bodily development Fandral, probably giggling in a corner at the word breasts, but women develop hips more at this age to allow for childbearing.'

'I am sorry, I am not coming across as I wish to.' She eyed him with annoyance. 'You are not like the floozies of court, you are different.'

'I think the terminology you are looking for is "not a gullible social climbing semi-comatose halfwit".'

'You are scathing.'

'I know, right?' She beamed proudly. 'Fandral, I actually do appreciate the honesty, but I am not interested in anyone here.' She admitted. 'My father is mostly trying to give the appearance that I have a choice in this to counter an argument that he favours Thor. I don't want to be courted, I don't want anyone to bother me.'

Fandral noted she seemed less like her authoritative usual self and almost upset. 'Thank you,' She looked at him, shocked. 'For your honesty.'

'I hate time wasting, mine or other peoples.' She shrugged. 'I hear Lady Alannah is in search of a husband, I mean, she has a face like a slapped dog most of the time, but I think she's the best of a bad lot really.'

Fandral could not help but chuckle. 'I'll keep that in mind.'

When he left, Sigyn allowed her false smile to fall and inhaled deeply. All she could think about was Loki, the way he kissed her, how he made her feel. She swallowed, but could not get rid of the lump in her throat, tears coming to her eyes. Slowly her body was going back to how it had been before, her chest was going back down, having never been allowed put her children to it, for the first few days, they hurt as they became over engorged in milk, but now, though they were still slightly bigger than before, leaks had ceased altogether. Her waist was not yet fully back to how she had been, there was still red angry marks from where her skin had stretched to facilitate the babies' need to grow, but she used a glamour to hide it, if only from herself, but her hips were one thing that she had to acknowledged had very much changed. They had developed more in the pregnancy to carry the load expected of them and now jutted out more, almost as though declaring how well she could bear a child. Sigyn felt alone, she wanted Loki to be by her side, she wanted them to be together with their children. She had not wept since the anguish of her children being taken from her subsided, but she felt the want to do so again.

'Sig?' She turned and noticed Thor nearby, giving a small sad smile, she turned away again. 'Did Fandral say something?'

'No, well yes, of course, he spoke, he does love his own voice after all, but he did not say anything to upset me.'

'Then what…?'

'He asked to court me.' Thor frowned. 'I said no.'

'I know he can be a tad...overt, but…' He could see the look on her face. 'He's not….' she shook her head. 'Sig, I...I wish I could say there was a possibility of anything, but….'

'I know, I just need more time, I think.'

'You think, or you hope?'

She could only shake her head. 'I don't know.' She gave him a small glance. 'When did you start becoming observant?'

'When I came home from training to find my sister giving birth in a hallway.'

Sigyn looked around worriedly, scared that someone would hear them. 'When did you decide to care more?'

'When I realised that my sister had specially commissioned armour made for me and the idea that she would do such a thing never once entered my head, I never even suspected you that day.'

'Yeah, well, we're not close.'

'We are not, or were not?' Thor seemed somewhat disheartened by her statement. 'I thought we were getting better.'

'I guess, but you'll go off again, or find a new toy to play with.'

'I am not going to, not after what happened. I….' Thor could not find the words for the guilt he had after everything, how he had never given her a second thought only to come home to a situation worse than he could ever imagine. 'We need to stick together, we are family.'

'Family….I thought I had that, but the only true family I will ever have is gone.' She sighed sadly. 'I need to be alone.' She walked off leaving Thor to look sadly after her.


	23. Chapter 23

Six months, or as Sigyn could tell, six months, three days and fourteen hours since she woke to the wetness in her bed and the feeling of her boys coming. She thought about them, every single day. Them and their father, the man she had fallen for, who she would give everything to be with. She thought of the guilt she had that Loki would never know whether or not she and the babies were safe, that he had two sons what he would never know of. She swallowed hard and thought of them all, forcing the tears to remain at bay as she looked to the ceiling, the painted mural on it making her want to baulk as she looked at her image, standing beside her mother, looking towards her father and brother, almost as though in awe and devotion, it always made her uncomfortable, but now, now she looked at it in pure hatred. It was telling her and the realm her place was at her father's feet, like a dog, to respect him, without question and when the day would come he would step down, she was expected to do the same with her brother. She shook her head, she could not, she would not. She had barely ceased looking at it when she heard the door of the throne room open.

'Thor, she's here.'

She turned to see Thor and rushing towards her and Fandral exiting again and closing the door, but only after a nod from Thor. 'Sig, I need you to do as I say without question.' She eyed him warily. 'This is a matter of the greatest urgency.'

Wondering what could have Thor look near frantic, she decided to listen, then decide whether or not she would do as he requested. As he began to talk, her eyes filled with fire.

Thor had planned on asking his father for assistance with a matter. Odin was not the greatest father for advice, he had the idea the best way to allow his children learn was to not tell them how to do it and let them figure it out for themselves, but in this matter, Thor felt he had to try. He had looked most places his father frequented, but could not find him, the last remaining "usual" place for him was in his mother's private chambers, so he went there. He had been let into the main rooms and was waiting for her maid to announce him when he heard his parents speak.

'I can feel it, through Gungnir.' His father growled.

'You do not need Gungnir to feel it, you can see it in her face. She despises us, she makes no attempt to hide it anymore, you can see it in her face. I dare say she would not spit on us were we on fire.'

'She will need to be sent off realm.'

'Odin, we could not prevent this happening here, Norns only knows what would occur if she did that. She will rebel far worse. Perhaps...if we tell her she is permitted to study…'

'Where is the majority of that study based?' Odin challenged. 'Alfheim. I am not allowing her there to go in search of them. If she found out he and those….things were there... Not to mention, the Jotnar situation. The Light Elves allow them on and off their realm without question. I regret letting him bring them there, if Laufey finds out….if she were added to that, he would have us.'

'She would not do such a thing.'

'That girl has nothing but hatred and contempt for us, you say so yourself. If she thought she would be able to get us back for what happened, she would, in a heartbeat.'

'I do not think she would go that far.'

'I have sent a messenger to Midgard, Frey is there, he will arrive here tomorrow, and he will deal with her.'

'What do you mean "deal with her", Odin she is our daughter, what are you going to do to her?'

'I am going to have her placed on Midgard, permanently. They have no alliances with the Frost Giants, they have no portals outside of the convergences, she will not be able to escape there, it is in everyone's best interests, all things considered, he will report on her.'

'Permanently?' It was clear Frigga was close to tears.

'She is not interested in moving on Frigga, she does nothing but allow her anger fester, she will be a danger to us soon, I sense it. If she were to be even showing the least amount of interest in anything else, it would be different, but she does not, and I cannot allow someone that dangerous in this court, I owe it to you and to Thor, to protect you from anything that may come against us, even our own daughter. Tell me, look me in the eye and say to me that if she raised a sword against you, you would have the heart to fight her, truly fight her, and take her life before she took yours. I cannot, I know I cannot raise Gungnir and do it, so too do I know you cannot. Thor….they have never been as close, he would not know where to stand, and that is when she will strike against him. Every day that passes, I feel her power returning to her, her seidr is stronger than I ever imagined, the more she pulls it to her again, the harder it is for me to stop it. She will destroy us all for this.'

'You cannot say for sure she would do such a thing.'

'I cannot say for sure she would not.' Frigga did not argue her husband further. 'She is not interested in starting afresh here, that is the biggest factor here.'

Thor shook from the revelations he was just witness to. The maid that had been about to inform her employers to their son's presence looked at him tearfully. He realised then she had been trained by being one of his sister's maids, and that she had been annoyed when she had been given to the Allmother instead. 'Do not tell my parents I witnessed their words.' He whispered. She nodded. 'Do not say I was here.'

'There is not enough room for you to pass between the table and chair,' She indicated to the items next to him. 'They will creak as you pass, go the other way and leave.'

Thor nodded and left the room with haste. He got to the main part of the palace and thought hard of how to prevent his father's plan from coming to pass. He was not foolish, Sigyn was angry with her parents, of course, and yes, at present, she hated them, but he refused to believe for one moment she would do anything against them, perhaps spit angry words, or at a stretch use her seidr to inconvenience them, but never take a sword to them. She was Sigyn the Loyal, to the detriment of her own happiness, she stood beside her mother daily, in the throne room, acting on behalf of the House of Odin and did not falter publically from her father's command. He was thinking of how to thwart it all when Fandral came into his sights.

'There you are, we've been looking for you, do you….Thor, are you alright?'

'Fandral, I need your assistance.'

'Anything, Thor, you know that. Name it.'

'I need you to do as I ask, without question. I need you to listen, without judgment and I need you like I have never needed our friendship before.' Thor pleaded.

'I am not going to lie, Thor, your words are unsettling me.' he admitted.


	24. Chapter 24

Sigyn stared at her brother. 'You're serious?'

'As an Odinsleep.'

'Fandral?'

'Sig, I know you have little time for him, or indeed any of my friends.' She made a face that told him how true that was. 'But right now, we need to stop this happening.'

'Maybe Midgard is a good idea.'

Thor stared at her. 'Wha….you cannot be serious?'

'I...There is nothing for me here, Thor. I...I cannot take this Norn's forsaken place, I cannot look them in the eye and not want to scream at them.'

'Father thinks you want to harm them, Mother, me.' Sigyn pursed her lips. 'You….you don't, do you?'

'If there was an attack on Asgard, I may be inclined to be slower than I should be to assist, but no, I don't want to physically harm anyone.'

'And other forms of pain?'

'I have been hurt, in the cruellest of ways but I do not want to inflict such pains to another. Adding to their pain will not stop my own. It will not bring my children back to me, bring….'

'You love him?' Thor realised. 'Even still?'

'Yes.'

Thor paused for a moment and chewed his lip. 'I need to tell you something, but you cannot react, not yet.' She studied him intently. 'I know where they are.' Her eyes widened. 'Alfheim.'

'I need….'

'No Sigyn, I know you want to get to them, I do, but not yet, not yet.'

'Like Hel….'

'If you go running there now, he will catch you, and you will suffer, but if we play the long game….'

'Long game? These are my children, I have missed too much already.'

'And you will miss more if he catches you, please Sig, listen to me. If you go through with this, he cannot deny you going t0 another realm with access to it.'

She was ready to argue him again until she listened and realised that there was reason to his logic. 'And he consents to this, Fandral?'

'Yes.'

'Why?'

'You need to ask him, I cannot answer for another.'

'Where is he?'

'The grounds, you go and meet him there, I have to get the rest of this plan into action.'

'Whoever thought you could actually concoct a half sensible plan.'

'And on the fly.' Thor beamed.

'Who are you and where is my idiot brother?' Thor gave a look of bemusement before turning and leaving.

Sigyn inhaled deeply and went to search for Fandral, if only to see what he had to say for himself.

She found him, standing in the courtyard, looking casual and grinning widely. 'M'Lady.' He bowed on seeing her.

'M'Lord.' She returned the gesture. 'I believe we are in cohorts.'

'I believe so.' He extended his arm and watched as she eyed him carefully before taking it. 'Now, I have not been given too many details, but I hear that to keep you from being cast off to Midgard for whatever prank you pulled this time, you are in need of a facade of settling down.'

'That is somewhat the long and the short of it, though there was no prank involved, the issue is that I have done nothing, and my father grows paranoid that that means I am up to no good.'

Fandral frowned, 'I see, I do not understand, but I see.'

'And you, dare I ask your reason for agreeing to such an act of madness?'

'Well, it is a two-pronged reason, one reason being that my best friend asked me this boon and the second and more urgent reason, my mother thinks it is high time I settled and has actually had the audacity to suggest Lady Carmella as my suitor, I was not privy to this, and the attempts to have her thrust upon me are imminent, so my having a far higher standard significant other will thwart my mother, if just for now.'

'So, social standing is the reason for your lack of interest in her?'

'No, I'd rather a milkmaid to her.'

'Her lack of beauty then?'

'If we are to be honest, how many women of the court would you say are of conventional beauty?'

'Three, at a stretch, on a good day, with the right lighting.'

'Exactly, so though it is a wished for attribute, it is not often one that can be had.'

'Most men of the court are boarish brutes, both in manner and appearance.' Sigyn added, 'Hardly wished for attributes, either.'

'It appears all of court is left wanting. But no, it is not her appearance, it is her manner I abhor, she is rude, conceited and horrid, not to mention, and I am aware you do not think me overly intelligent, but if I am one of Thor's "idiot friends", then she….'

'Has the realm's first negative number IQ?' Sigyn suggested.

Fandral stared at her in shock. 'I knew you had an acid tongue, but I never realised how nice you were trying to be to the others and I.'

'Yes, well…' She paused as she felt someone looking at them, she knew from the sinking feeling before she ever turned it was her mother, and sure enough, there she was, standing at the balcony that overlooked the courtyard, staring at them open-mouthed. A moment later, she was gone.

'Will she buy it?' Fandral asked.

'I don't know yet.'

'What is all this about?'

'Me, and my failings as a daughter and in my role as a royal.'

'If I may?' She looked at him. 'Because of the time Thor, the others and I spend around the realm, we speak to a lot of the people of the realm.'

'Dare I ask?'

'Most of them do not seem to even know what you do, we know, because usually, it is us that endure your actions, but the people, all they know is you exist.'

'I don't know if that means I really am failing or not.' She looked sadly at a flowering bush nearby.

'I am not sure how I thought that would raise your spirits.' He put his hand on her waist, causing her to stop moving and look towards him slightly, but when she saw the look on his face, she gave a slight nod, and he leant over. 'The Allmother is back, with company.' He whispered quietly.

She nodded slightly and leant in, allowing him to kiss her before she pulled away and turned as though she had no idea who was present. When she turned, she noticed not one, but both of her parents looking at them. Though they were a fair distance away, it was clear that both were shocked by the scene in front of them. But if she could see their faces, she knew they could see hers. She gave them a look of someone caught doing something they ought not to be doing and pulled Fandral away from their sight.

'Does this alter things?' Frigga asked her husband.

Odin thought over what he saw. Sigyn had not seen them before she did what she did, but the fact it was Fandral with whom she was doing it with caused him to be suspicious. She made it clear she was not interested in him as it stood, but all things considered. He had not seen the youth acting as he had before at the past few formal events and with her now tarnished name, he hoped Sigyn had seen that a match with a young man that was closely allied to Thor would settle her. He decided to wait and see if his daughter was truly altering her ways. Turning, he left the courtyard and decided to look further into the issue, having a servant call for his son.

When Thor made his way to his father's study he knew it had something to do with Sigyn, so preparing himself, he walked in ready for whatever his father had to say. 'Father?'

'Fandral.'

'What of him?'

'He did not ask for consent to court your sister, did you know of this?'

'Yes.' Odin's jaw clenched slightly. 'He asked me if I would mind.'

'You? You are not her father.'

'You were busy with the Vanir trade agreement and had already presented Sigyn to the court for such things, ergo he did not feel it was right to disrupt something so integral with something you had already given consent for. With me, however, he felt that I would give an answer you would and also he wanted to know my personal feelings on the matter, since we are friends so long.'

Odin thought over his words for a moment. 'And you consent?'

'It is a very odd situation for me but Fandral is one of my closest friends, I would trust him with my life, I also know he has been looking for someone that would be a good match for him, and though his method of trying most women is not the greatest way to do such, he too is under pressure both from himself and his family to seek the happiness Hogun and Volstagg have. I know he will not raise a hand to her or mistreat her by other means, a statement not every man can make of his friends.'

'And you?' Odin asked.

Thor's jaw clenched slightly. 'I am more concerned as to my sister at the moment, Father. All things considered, if I were to be seen to court also, all focus would be off her when for once, perhaps giving her the light is the best idea, it will allow her the focus that perhaps has been missing before. She thought no one even realised who she was, this will remind both her and them of such.'

Odin said nothing for a moment. 'Well, women do not like their spotlight taken from them for such things, I suppose you get some reprieve.'

'I just want Sig to be happy again, Fandral seems capable of getting her to be so.'

'You do not think it a rouse?'

'What reason has she, Father?' Odin did not answer, unaware that his son knew exactly the reason she would need to do so. 'There is all this focus for Sigyn not to remain in the past, the best way to do that is for you to do the same. How can you expect her to act as though past occurrences are done when you remain focused on them.' Odin nodded in response. 'Now, if that is everything, I am meeting them and the others for lunch, I bid you a good day, Father.

'Lunch?'

'Yes, we have been doing this a week now since it was made known.'

'How….How long is this occurring?'

Thor shook his head slightly, 'About a month or so.' Odin's eye widened. 'When did you learn of it?'

'Today. A month?'

'Yes. You are losing your sight, Father to say you have not seen it.' Thor chuckled, elated internally for having his father question himself.


	25. Chapter 25

Loki rubbed his eyes and yawned. He felt as though he would never sleep a full night again.

'Get some sleep darling, I will look after…'

'No, they are my sons, I will look after them, you have raised your child already.' He insisted.

'I am aware of that, but you need some sleep.' His mother insisted.

'How do mothers do this?'

'They have no choice. Well, most do not.' There was a slight bitterness in her tone.

'Mother, I know I say this often, but please, you were not there with Sigyn, she never wanted this, I know it.'

'She is not here though, is she?'

'Do you think after the last time he gave her free rein and she rushed off realm that she would be allowed risk doing so again? No, he has her forced not to be allowed near us, I know it.'

Loki's mother looked at him sadly. His use of the word "us" telling her that even after six months, Loki was still completely in love with the woman. 'They only wake once at night now, allow me to take them tonight, that way you can assist your father tomorrow, I heard him say he has work you can assist do.'

Loki nodded, knowing that as well as juggling the two boys, he had to assist his father. The jewelry that Sigyn had given them on their fleeing had assisted them, it was true, to the extent they were still living on it and were able to acquire two of everything required for the babies, but he needed to get his name known if they were to make it more viable for them to build on the business. 'Sure.' He watched as she took Narfi into his parents' room. In his arms, Vali gurgled and looked up at him. His purple eyes, a mixture of Jotunn red and his mother's blue, focused on him and he smiled. Loki felt tears in his eyes as he looked at his young son, both of exhaustion and heartache as he saw Sigyn's smile in his features.

'Loki?' He turned to look at his father. 'Son?'

'They look like her.'

'I can only see you.'

'She's there.' he brought Vali up closer to his face and kissed his forehead.

'Get some sleep, son.' Tomás took Vali from him and left the room.

'Is he settled?'

'He's still awake, but he is fed.' Tomás informed his wife.

'I was talking about Loki.'

'He is still focused on her.'

'She gave her children away, abandoned them.'

'I spoke with the Allfather, at length, I do not think that girl gave them willingly.'

'Well, they are here now.' His wife looked adoringly at her grandchildren. 'I just don't know how she could do it. Is it because they are different?'

'I do not think the Princess gave them willingly.' Tomás repeated.

'How is Loki supposed to find someone to love if he is still focused on her?'

'I don't know.' Was all Tomás could respond with.

Loki rubbed the sweat from his brow and continued to work, he tried to keep his tunic on, but it was impossible. The forge was smaller than the one in Asgard, so he was forced closer the fire, something that he now realised was a notable reason for his dislike of. He realised soon enough that there were young elvish women that seemed to smile a lot at him, often they cooed over his clearly mixed heritage sons, but he could not look at them, all he saw when he closed his eyes was Sigyn.

Loki worked tirelessly assisting his father with the work that was now accumulating for them with more and more elves seeing their work. The two men worked to fill orders, so much so, Tomás had to talk to his son about considering taking on an apprentice.

'Father, I…'

'I'll train him, you continue as you are doing. Considering your reason for not being fond of heat, this would mean we would have someone to assist me with that and allow you do your workmanship.' Tomás explained. Loki could not fault his reasoning. 'It also means you can help your mother more with the boys. You can work when they are napping and be a father to them.' Loki nodded, having voiced his concern as to how little time he had spent with Narfi and Vali. 'So….will we?'

'How can I say no?' Loki chuckled.

That is how they came to take on a young elf by the name of Dafydd. He was strong and well-built, allowing him to be a great aid in helping Loki move around heavy loads his father was no longer able to assist with. He also had a keen eye, which aided greatly with their work. Dafydd could tell from the day he met the twins of their heritage, their markings, peculiar eyes and skin tone saying everything of their parentage, but as with all elves, he had never seen issue with the Jotnar, they were allied with them, and according to him, there were indeed a few Light Elf-Jotnar mixed children on realm.

In many ways, speaking with Dafydd assisted Loki in settling in himself. He was another young man, not much younger than Loki, and he was able to tell Loki a lot of the realm. Tomás encouraged the friendship, seeing it as a manner for Loki to get rid of some of his stresses and to have someone his own age to confide in. He also encouraged him to join Dafydd to an inn for an evening sometime, insisting that he needed to remember he was still just a young man under it all.

At first, Loki was reluctant, citing the twins and his workload as reasons to not do so, but after a time, his parents' persistent badgering caused him to give in, if just once so that he would not have to do so again.

The experience itself was pleasant, the inn was not overcrowded, yet lively enough to allow the two men interact with others. Dafydd, as all younger men did, used it as a means to scope out potential suitors, Loki had no such interest. It was there that Dafydd's curiosity got the better of him.

'So you are not interested in anyone?'

'No.' Loki answered simply, taking another drink of his ale.

'I gotta ask….' Loki knew before Dafydd ever said anything the topic, if not the particular question, the elf would go for. 'Do you ever plan to have another wife?'

Loki contemplated the question for a moment. It was clear that his father had given Dafydd a story regarding Sigyn that involved her no longer being part of his or the twin's lives. 'No.'

'But you have what, another four thousand years or so, surely you could change your mind in that time?'

'You never loved a woman, have you?' Loki smiled to show he was not ridiculing the young man. Dafydd shook his head. 'I cannot give my heart again. She...To do so feels wrong.' He explained.

'You still love her?'

'With all of my being.'

'I am sorry.' Dafydd looked at his drink in guilt.

'It's natural to be curious.' Loki dismissed.

Not long after, two young elves, about the same age as the two men came over, smiling playfully at them. 'You're the Aesir blacksmith, aren't you?' The older asked.

'I am.' Loki confirmed politely.

'So, is there a mother for those cute little boys of yours?'

'Well, they did not get delivered by the Valkyries.' Dafydd jested. Loki gave a small huff of a laugh as the women giggled, taking that as their cue to join the men.

Loki assisted Dafydd in getting their attention, but he did not want to further any interest in himself. After another two drinks, the younger woman was clearly interested in Dafydd, asking him about his apprenticeship and other such things while he politely tried to make clear to the older that he was not seeking a partner. She seemed disappointed but polite about it, so he excused himself and went to the restrooms. Inside, he inhaled deeply and thought of Eliza. She was pretty, for an elf, but she was not Sigyn. Trying to fight with himself regarding the matter, he splashed water on his face before leaving again, adamant that he would make his excuses and go home. When he got back to the table, he gave a polite smile and made a comment regarding having to get back to Narfi and Vali, which was met with pleas to remain, as well as disappointed looks, but with a promise to see Dafydd in the morning, he bade farewell and left.

He decided to walk back to the forge slowly. He was not in the mood to go home and stare at the ceiling to try and fall asleep. He sauntered, weaving the smaller roadways to make the small journey before coming to the town square and deciding to rest for a minute with his thoughts.

The square was void of life at that hour, dark but for four lights which made the four corners of it, and in the centre, a monument to Fjorg the Brave, the king of the Elves who assisted The Allfather and King of Asgard Bor against the Dark Elves millennia before. He looked at the statue and thought of what he had learnt of the war growing up, which then led to him thinking again of Sigyn.

He had worried more than once since the twins were born as to her wellbeing. He feared so often of the concern that she had not been able to birth them without complication. Eir had said her seidr was integral for their safe delivery, had her father given her it back for the task at hand? Had she passed because of it? He fished for information, but as on Asgard, the female child of Odin was of little interest, she did not warrant caring about. Then he felt himself getting angered, she had not tried to find them, she had not asked after their sons, fought to get to them, had Odin's words been the truth? Did she honestly not care for her children as she claimed she had, or him...he bit the inside of his cheeks as he thought of their amorous nights, of their bodies intertwined as they watched their children grow in her, preparing for their birth. Had she only wanted someone to sate a hunger in her, were her words of affection merely lies to ensnare his affections, he could not prevent the cruel thoughts he so desperately did not want to think, yet they festered.

'So, he's not interested?'

'No, according to Dafydd, he is still mourning his wife.'

Loki could hear Eliza speaking with another elf. He said nothing and listened.

'I heard he took those babies and fled with them, that she is looking for them.' The other elf gossiped.

'I heard she dumped them when they looked like a that, not all Frost Giant.'

'They are weird looking. I saw his mother with them. There is no telling what is in them.' Loki felt anger and bile rise in his throat.

'I think they are adorable.' Eliza defended. 'They are so cute.'

'Would you want that, to play "Mommy"?'

'No, not really. But he is gorgeous and clearly, he knows what to do.'

Loki felt as though he had been struck with a blow to the gut. He rose from his seat and glared at the pair causing them to look at him. The friend looked fearful, Eliza had the decency to look ashamed. Loki, for his part, gave them a scathing look and turned and walked away. He made it to the forge before the tears started to fall, not long after, the strong facade he put on for the sake of his family fell, and he slid down the wall of the building, to the ground, sobbing.

'Loki?' He barely heard his father coming over to him. 'Son?' Seeing how distraught he was, Tomás got him into the forge and placed his near the still warm fire. 'Son, talk to me.'

'She...'

Tomás said nothing more, knowing what was upsetting his son, but not knowing how to deal with it. Instead, he sat beside him and embraced him as he son dealt with the heartache for the woman he clearly loved.

Loki said nothing of his anguished actions after they occurred, but there was no denying there was a significant decrease in his amicable moods. Tomás asked Dafydd what occurred on their evening out, but according to the younger elf, nothing of note, Loki left them early and went home, citing the twins as an excuse.

Tomás wanted to delve further into the issue, but was called away to deal with a horse, he ordered Dafydd to tidy and see if he could get Loki to speak to him, but Loki said little to the elf other than to ask him to pass him something.

Dafydd, all but badgered Loki to speak to him, asking him who he thought would win a local election, what he thought of things and finally, he decided to mention their night out, which had occurred a week previous at this point. That was met with little enthusiasm, when he mentioned Eliza, that was met with hostility.

'Well, let us see, after you and Charlene clearly went your own way, I was unfortunate enough to meet Eliza again with another friend, only they did not know I was there, I was privy to their thoughts on me, one of which was that I stole my sons from their mother, that was particularly hurtful, that and them being called peculiar looking, that angered me the most, for the obvious reasons, but Eliza and her interest, though she did say she found me appealing to look at, which no creature can ever see something to fault in that, was solely interested in my company for a bed partner, my sons being proof that I knew how things functioned if nothing else, how do you think that makes me feel? Elated? Lucky?'

'I am sorry, Loki.'

'Sorry. Well, sorry does not make it hurt less since you did not say it to begin with.' Loki growled.

'You really still love her, their mother.'

'Of course, I do. You don't understand, none of you do.'

'I do.' The pair looked towards the door, not realising they were no longer alone. 'Hello, Duckie, how about you and I have a little chat and you introduce me to those beautiful little boys of yours.'


	26. Chapter 26

'Do you have everything you need for them?'

'Yes, Anastasia.' Loki smiled as she looked at the two infants adoringly.

'They are a mixture of you both, Vali has her smile. They look more like you, mind, but you can see her.' Loki swallowed. 'So, he banned you from contact with her too?' Loki stared at her. 'Yes, I am not allowed contact her, in any manner, my penance for helping you both.'

'I am sorry.'

'I am not Duckie. As you said to that elf, sorry does not mean as much from someone who did no wrong to you.' Loki nodded. 'She is alive, you will be happy to know.'

'You….?'

'I have my own little ears to the ground. She is miserable; a shell of her former self. She is being forced to court, but you can see, she looks to the Bifrost, and her chance to be gone. She holds her parents in nothing but contempt for all they have done.'

'She could fight it.'

'She would lose, immediately, where would she be then?'

'She cannot truly want it, have wanted the boys.'

'I heard it, from one that was in the room, she begged to hold them, to see them properly, she was not given her request, she never got to hold them, to even say hello, much less the goodbye.'

Loki stared at her in shock. 'She didn't….'

'She never wanted to be parted from them, Duckie. She fought to be their mother, but they….my nephew is a good king, I can give him that credit, he protects Asgard, he has fought and put himself in the line of fire for the realm, but he is a failure of a father.'

'She only ever wanted to be enough for him.'

'The fact my great niece was born a girl meant she was a disappointment to him from the start, she was never going to be enough.' She looked adoringly as Narfi put one little chubby finger in his mouth and smiled at her. 'If either of these two had been girls….'

'If they were both girls, I would love them as dearly. I don't think I would ever sleep well again, but I would not falter in my love for my children.'

'That is because you are a good father,' Anastasia smiled slightly before she looked at him sadly. 'Talk to me, Duckie, tell me your woes, I am listening.'

'I miss her, so much. I….I feel lost, as though this is some form of reality that is not right. We were supposed to be together, she would be here, she wanted to be their mother, feed them, tend to them.'

'She is not dead Loki, the day will come when she will get here, I know it.'

'You said she is being forced to court?'

'Yes, my source has it that it was that or worse punishment.'

'But she is actively courting?'

'That, I do not know. Odin declared it to the court, I am not sure what has happened since.' Loki gave her a look that indicated his uncertainty at the matter. 'Duckie, her heart is not there to give to another.'

'How can you know this, how can you say that for fact?' Loki challenged.

Anastasia looked at him. 'Because I saw how she looked at you. She loved you, with everything she had, she is not one to say words like that lightly, so for her to have said to you what she did, there is no denying it.'

'Yet she...'

'I am going to go to Asgard, and see what needs seeing, I will give you the honest answer then.'

'But you said you are banned from seeing her.'

'Odin may be the Allfather and King, but not once has that man ever truly been able to stop me, besides,' She winked. 'Your little dumping on Jotunheim has lead to a very interesting new ally.' Loki frowned at her cryptic words.

Loki went back to work on what he had been dealing with in the forge before Anastasia's arrival, worrying as to what she would report from Asgard, her insisting that she leave immediately to see what was going on.

Dafydd looked at him for a moment before clearing his throat. 'So...you know the Duchess of Asgard?' Loki ceased working and nodded slightly, not looking up from his work. 'Can I ask how?'

'Because the twins' mother and I stayed with her during the pregnancy.'

'But she..'

'Dafydd, please, I cannot talk about this.' Loki pleaded, finally looking at the other man. 'I…'

'It's not my business.' Dafydd acknowledged. 'But know that I want to be a friend to you, Loki. I see us as more than boss and apprentice, I want to be able to help you through everything, but I understand if the feeling is not reciprocated.'

'It is not so simple,' Loki tried to explain. 'I cannot just tell you everything about her.'

'Can I ask why you never say her name?'

'I cannot.'

'Because it hurts?'

'No, because there is literally a spell on me that means I cannot say her name to people who do not know of the situation.' Loki admitted. Dafydd stared at him in shock. 'Her father, he is a powerful being, he put a spell on me that means I cannot say her name to people who are not aware of the full story, I cannot reveal her.'

'So, that is why she is not here, she is forbidden?' Dafydd realised. Loki nodded in confirmation. 'You….wait, you know the Duchess of Asgard, and her father is a powerful man, you…. Who in the realms did you piss off, the Allfather?' Dafydd mean it as a joke, he said the name since it was the most preposterous one that came to mind, he laughed as he said it, but the laughter ceased as soon as he looked at Loki, wondering why he had not joined in. The moment Loki's eyes met his, he realised. 'The Allfather? So….Vali, Narfi...Princess Sigyn of Asgard?' Loki swallowed and nodded sadly.


	27. Chapter 27

Anastasia all but strutted through the Aesir palace as though she owned it. She did not wait to be announced, she simply walked through it. It was not long before she saw guards coming towards her, and behind them, her nephew.

'What are you doing here?' He demanded.

'I just could not wait to see you again.' She stated coldly.

'Indeed. Leave this palace, now.'

'Or you'll what?' She stood tall against him. 'You forget nephew, I have far more on you than you ever can allow be known.'

'What do you want?'

'Where is she?'

'None of your concern.'

'I will warn you once and once only, let me see her.'

"Or you'll what?" Odin quoted.

'Did you think I would not find him? Him or those beautiful little boys.' Odin's face fell. 'I found them, they did not come looking for me, by the way.'

'How?'

'Well, Alfheim is a big place, but it is not often you hear of Aesir blacksmiths going there for work. Do you think in the time I spent with them, that I never got to know that boy, that I would be oblivious to his line of work? I knew what his trade was, and when they said he had two children and they had no mother, well now, it did not take a genius. They are wonderful little things, by the way, one has your nose, the poor pet, what an infliction, at least his Jotnar traits make him endearing.' Odin's nostrils flared as his aunt spoke freely in the hallway of the matter he tried so vehemently to keep silent.

'She is not available right now.' He smirked.

'Is that of her own free will or have you done something to cause that?'

'I have done nothing, it is all her doing. Thankfully, she saw sense and no longer pines for less suitable men. She is with Fandral, her partner, in our private quarters, with her mother and his.'

Anastasia gave no outward sign of her shock at his words. 'Wonderful, I will join them.'

Odin stepped forward. 'You will not interfere.'

'I do not intend to interfere with anything. If Sigyn is truly happy, I will continue to support her, whatever she does. If she is not, I will continue to be there for her, as you never were.'

'You will do nothing to impede this, Anastasia.'

'I have no intentions. You have learnt nothing from any of this, have you, you old fart? You still hold her in nothing but contempt.'

'After what she did…'

'Norns, you will never change.' She waved her hand in the air. 'Why do you hate her so? What did having a daughter do to you to hate a child who has done you no wrong?'

Odin frowned. 'You think it her gender that was the issue? Her being female never had anything to do with it.'

That startled Anastasia, she, and indeed anyone else she discussed the matter with, always assumed it was Sigyn's gender that caused his dislike of her. 'Then what, what is it that little girl did to make you hate her so?'

'I do not hate her. You all assume that I hate my daughter, the worst I can be assumed to be is indifferent.'

'Hate is better than indifference, hate is a passionate emotion.' Anastasia commented.

'She is the reason for it all.'

Odin's words made no sense to Anastasia. 'For what?'

'For Frigga...it fits the prophecy.'

Again, it did not make sense to her, though it did startle Anastasia how upset Odin seemed by the conversation. 'What are you blabbering on about, you are going senile.'

'It was foretold, as you well know, of Asgard's fall from power.'

'By the Dark Elves, and my brother stopped that.' Anastasia scoffed, recalling the war her brother Bor had led against Malekith and his forces, allowing them to hide the Aether safely among the realms and destroy the armies of their great foe.

'No, not that one, the monarchy would fall, at the hands of one in it, by aligning too many houses and ensuring none more could follow to stop them.'

'That story is older than Yggdrasil, utter poppycock.' she dismissed.

'Yet Sigyn did both the requirements for its happening, with her recent actions and how she damaged Frigga when she was born.'

'Well, that explains the two children.' Anastasia commented before looking at him again. 'You have blamed her since she was born for something she could not have had any say in. How in the realms is it her fault that the birth injured Frigga, Norns, she was an infant. If this does come to pass, you have made your own bed, listen to yourself.'

'Those…things.'

'Babies, Odin, they are just babies, two beautiful children, so happy and good, and you are forcing her to miss it, she has missed their first smiles, she has never even known them, never held them, she didn't even know what she had, your son had to tell her.'

Odin eyed her carefully. 'How in the realms do you know this?'

'I have my means.'

'You have people, spying on me, in my own palace!'

'As I did your father in his.' She sneered.

'I will find them.'

'I can guarantee you won't.' She chuckled.

'You will not ruin this.'

'Ruin what, exactly?'

'Sigyn's redemption.'

'She has done nothing that requires redeeming, you bigoted fool.'

'If you do anything to alter the route she is now on, she is finally seeing sense and choosing a partner of standing, who will not harm her and who will ensure that all of this madness is put to an end, if she wants thirty children with him, then none will stop her.'

'You are getting a little ahead of yourself, Odin. They cannot be courting so long that you could think that an immediate concern.'

Odin chuckled. 'Well, did your little source tell you what today's little luncheon is regarding?' It was clear she did not know what he was going to say. 'The announcement of their engagement.' Anastasia stood in shock. 'She will be wed before the year is done.'


	28. Chapter 28

Sigyn sat looking at the plate in front of her. Fandral, to her side, she realised, was just as silent. They had not wanted it to go this far, Odin had decided their "courting" was more than adequate and was pushing for a wedding. Fandral and Sigyn had both been startled and left silent and open-mouthed at his insistence that there would be a marriage by the end of the year. Thor seemed the only one capable of speech and tried to tell his father that that was not in anyway conforming to tradition, which dictated a longer engagement to allow for foreign dignitaries and monarchs to ready for the event. Odin dismissed him in private and said that nothing was more important than having everything put behind them and that he believed it to be the right thing to do for Sigyn and to not thwart her chance to be happy, as well as permit her to truly be a mother, since she seemed, in his eye, to wish for that. Thor argued, but it was to no avail, leaving him, Sigyn and Fandral in his rooms trying to figure out how to delay things.

Fandral's mother, seemed far happier with the state of affairs, Frigga, though she was happy to see that Sigyn was apparently happy with another, felt somewhat uneasy about both the hastiness of it all, and noticed the exchange of silent looks between her daughter and Fandral and on occasion Thor about it,but said nothing.

The pair looked at one another wondering how they could force a delay in things when Sigyn frowned and looked at the door.

'Sigyn?' Her mother asked, looking at her, then to the door. 'Are you alright?'

Sigyn rarely spoke to her mother when in company, and ignored her altogether when alone, but her ignoring was not for the same reasons as usual, she genuinely could not hear her mother as she rose from her seat, her eyes still fixed on the door. 'It can't be.'

A moment later, the door opened and Anastasia walked through. 'Did you sense me, Duckie?' She smiled, seeing Sigyn's half risen and focused look. Sigyn rushed over and embraced her. 'How are you?'

'I missed you so much.' She whispered before she froze and stared at her aunt.

'You sense them.'

'You…?' Sigyn's eyes filled with tears.

Anastasia nodded slightly. "Later" she mouthed causing Sigyn to nod. 'Now, what is this of an engagement, where is he, I have to inspect.' She walked forward and stood looking at Fandral, who looked at her in confusion. 'A tad gormless, isn't he?'

'You've just startled him.' Sigyn forced herself to pull her thoughts from her sons and used her elation at seeing Anastasia to feign her excitement at the situation at hand. 'Anastasia, this is Fandral, he is lovely, so don't be mean.' She helped pull Fandral to his feet.

'Fandral.' Anastasia was unsure as to what Sigyn would tell her, but it was clear, something was afoot. 'Do you know who I am, Boy?'

'Yes…' Fandral cleared his throat. 'Excuse me, yes, Ma'am. You are the Duchess Anastasia, the aunt of the Allfather.' He bowed slightly.

'Maybe not so gormless after all,' She eyed him again. 'Perhaps you are good enough for my nephew, but let's see if you are good enough for my little Duckie in my eyes.' She smiled in a manner that terrified Fandral, he looked to Sigyn to see her reaction, concerned that she seemed to have a dismissive face on.

'Perhaps lunch, with just Fandral and I is needed to show you his worth.' Sigyn suggested with a smile, daring her mother to object as she did.

'Lunch then. I have little time for tea parties since I grew up.' Anastasia looked at the table in front of her as Sigyn forced herself not to laugh, having loved how Anastasia never filtered herself for fear of hurting others. 'I will get settled.'

'You're staying?' Sigyn beamed.

'Only for a day or two, Duckie.' Sigyn's face fell. 'But I will be back soon, I have to return to Alfheim as quick as possible, I need to help someone with a couple of kittens.' Sigyn stared at her aunt in confusion before her eyes filled with recognition, so she feigned disappointment and nodded. 'I needed to see my girl and this man I heard was in her life.'

'How did word get to Alfheim so fast?' Frigga questioned.

'Good news seldom remains secret, my dear Frigga.' Anastasia smiled, her knowing smile telling Frigga a lot more than words ever would.

Frigga did not know what to say. She had hoped with time, Sigyn would get over everything that had happened, with the children and with Loki. she saw the courtship with Fandral as a major step towards that and knew that Anastasia would not think twice of bringing up the topic with Sigyn and in Frigga's mind, cause her to step back to becoming upset once more. She was polite but cold to her mother in public, only because she had to be, but Frigga knew any chance of repairing her relationship with her daughter would be hampered by Anastasia. 'Tanya, you and I need to discuss certain aspects of the announcement that needs sorting. You two need to speak with Diane regarding your clothes, I suggest you do that now if you plan on meeting Anastasia for lunch.'

Sigyn allowed Fandral to put his arm around her waist and guide them from the room. As soon as they were outside, he looked at her. 'Can I ask…?'

'It's complicated.'

'But part of this?'

'Very much so.'

Fandral looked at her, slightly confused. Thus far, both Thor and Sigyn had not told him too much of what was afoot, per se, but clearly, it was far more complicated than he thought. 'Okay.'

Sigyn looked him in the eye and shook her head. 'I am sorry you are dragged into this, Fandral. I honestly cannot even begin to express my remorse that you are here now, dealing with this with me and you never deserved to be.'

'I have no idea what happened to cause this, but clearly, it was something of a magnitude I cannot understand.'

Sigyn looked at him guiltily. 'I wish I could tell you, you deserve to know.'

'I am not as gormless as I look.'

'No, you're not, and when I can, I will tell you, but I can't, not yet.'

'When we're married?' There was an implication in his tone that told her of his reluctance.

'It will never get that far, I promise.'

'I am somewhat doubtful.'

'That ribbon will never tie around our hands, even if it got that far, it would get no further.' She swore. The conviction in her words made him believe that if nothing else, she believed it.

Anastasia stood dictating where everything she had with her was supposed to go before dismissing everyone from the room. 'It's rude to sneak up on people, Duckie.' She turned to see Sigyn standing behind her. 'Does he realise you have your seidr back yet?'

'He knows it is slipping, he has no idea how far it has gone though. I am not revealing my hand, not yet.'

'Good, smart girl.'

'Have you really seen them?'

'I have.'

'Please….' Sigyn begged.

'Oh, they are their father's sons, but you are there too.' Sigyn cried. 'Vali looks more like you, he is the one you saw, the firstborn. And Narfi…'

'Their names…Loki…?'

'You don't know….he has them.' Sigyn began to shake. 'They are on Alfheim, all of them.'

'I have to go back with you, I need to be with them.'

'No Duckie, not yet, we need to wait.'

'I have waited, too long. I need to be with them.' Sigyn's voice cracked as she spoke.

'Duckie, please, we need this to be timed right.'

'What? Time what right?'

'We have an ally, one that wants to assist, one that we need the aid of, but not yet.'

'I don't understand.'

'You don't need to, not yet. I have had my eyes and ears here, they will inform you soon enough of what we are to do. But you need to tell me about your plan with this boy.'

'Father was going to send me to Midgard, he had contacted Frey about it, I was to be banished there. He felt I was going to destroy our house, betray him, Mother and Thor. Thor told me, and he asked his friend who was being badgered into a courtship to assist, and that is how he is involved.'

'He is not exactly mind-blowing.' Anastasia commented. 'I prefer your taste.'

'How...how is Loki?'

'He misses you, something terrible.'

'Not as much as I miss him.'

'I will tell him.'

'Please, tell him what is happening here and that I love him, more than ever, and I want to be with them, and it is breaking my heart, I don't feel right not being with them, but that I am so relieved the boys are with him.' She could not control the tears any longer. 'I…I don't know if I will ever get there.'

'You will, Duckie, just stay the course.'

'I feel so lost, so broken.'

'It goes against nature, being away from your children when you love them and wish to be with them. Your seidr knows it, you have to hold on, Sigyn, know that we will get you through this.'

'I...I don't know if I can.'

Anastasia looked at Sigyn and wished for nothing more than to comfort her. 'I know, Duckie, I know it hurts, but you are stronger than them, you are like me, and we remain strong, if only to look those who wrong us in the eye as we watch them buckle.' Sigyn looked at her great aunt. 'I wanted to die when my George was taken from me. Those who caused his death, however unintentional it was, they thought I would not find out, but I did, and I watched them fall to guilt and made sure they knew that I knew. You are Sigyn the Loyal and Faithful, you will not let those who wrong you from being so, do you hear me. Look Odin in the eye and remember that he cannot take your honour from you, let him know that you will never buckle to him or any other man.' Sigyn, though she felt herself becoming more crippled by her own attempts to feign being happy when her seidr and her heart seemed adamant to tear her apart, knew what her aunt was saying was right. 'Duckie?'

'They're coming.'

'Go and try and centre yourself.' Anastasia instructed. Sigyn could only nod before allowing her copy fizzle away and do as instructed.


	29. Chapter 29

Sigyn heard her parents entering her rooms as she sank further into the bath, she dipped her head under the water just as she heard her father demand to speak with her. She took a moment to think of what to say while under the water, only to feel herself being yanked violently through it, causing her to open her mouth in shock before reaching the surface and coughing as she tried to expel the fluid from her lungs.

'What in Hel were you doing?' Her father demanded, holding onto her.

It took Sigyn a moment to realise her father was the one holding onto her and used her seidr to cover herself with some clothing. 'What in Hel were you doing?' She retorted as she got her breath back. 'I was in here, having a bath and you come in and pull me out of it.'

'You were under the water, not sitting up in it. I knew it, I knew that hag coming here would set you back. Just her being here caused you to think to take your life.'

'What? I was not trying to drown myself, you idiot, I was just relaxing. I do that every time I bathe.'

'You submerge yourself, do you have gills you never informed us of?'

'I could have and screamed it from the rooftops and you would not have noticed.' She used her seidr to dry and dress herself and stormed out of her bathroom and into her bedroom. 'What possessed you to come into my bathroom anyway, you're my father.'

'Your maids heard nothing from you and were worried, excuse me for being concerned for my daughter.'

'Are you starting to get a conscience, or was it that you were worried I would shame you more with my doing away with myself?'

'Do not start this, you were progressing well.' Frigga pleaded.

'Because I stopped fighting and allowed myself be dictated to, I am making do.'

'Is that all Fandral is, "making do"?'

Sigyn glared at her mother, 'Fandral has been nothing short of caring and honest to me since this began. If it were not for him and Thor...' It was the truth, Fandral did not lie about his intentions from the beginning and had been supporting her even when he did not know why she was so upset. She smiled sadly as she shook her head. 'He really is a good man.'

'Not a rascal, then?'

Sigyn looked at her father. 'He had his time playing around, he admits that himself, but a rascal is not indicative of whether or not a man is truly of good or bad character when he is not wed and never attempted to tempt married women, in fact, I see that as points in his favour.'

Odin and Frigga shared a look. 'About Anastasia.' She eyed her mother carefully. 'This lunch…'

'It is not happening.' Odin stared at his wife, having not heard of the plan between his aunt and his daughter before then, 'Absolutely not.'

'Yes, it is.' Sigyn's parents looked at her. 'Fandral will be there, I just want to talk to her. We are going.'

'Fandral?' Odin turned to Frigga, who nodded. 'You never told him?'

'How can I?' She tilted her neck up, where her collar necklace remained in place. 'You have your little insurance policy on me.'

'You cannot ruin a chance of happiness for yourself, Sigyn.'

'You are shoving me to my wedding vows, why? Why are you forcing this?' She asked since her father never even explained himself.

'If you really love him, what does it matter?'

'Because you took my joy from me.' Odin scoffed. 'I was supposed to get the proposal, the moment of shocked excitement, of giving my consent to it, that was mine to have, and you took it.'

Odin seemed startled by her comment. 'I did not realise.' That startled her. 'In our role as royals, proposals are not a norm, I didn't realise it was something a Princess would want.' Sigyn said nothing. 'I apologise.' Her eyes widened. 'We just want what is best for you, for you to be happy and to act as one of your position should. I did not want you sent off realm as a bargaining piece.' Sigyn bit her tongue, she was in no mood to argue. 'I am concerned this lunch will hurt you more than be good for you.'

Sigyn frowned. 'Why?'

Her father looked into her eyes for a few moments, as though searching for something. 'You don't...you do not need Anastasia attempting to mention the past in front of Fandral.'

'I think you are underestimating Aunt Ana's intelligence, she never would say anything for fear of causing me undue stress.' Sigyn dismissed.

'Thor has not seen her in some time, it is only right he be there also.' Frigga stated.

Sigyn raised a brow before shrugging. 'Fine, I just want to spend time with her, I don't care if it is at a realm dinner or just lunch, I just want to spend time with her.'

'She is a bad influence.'

'She is nearing five thousand years old, she is hardly going to suggest we go flying on dragons.' Sigyn dismissed.

'Still, I do not want her starting anything.'

'Well, I doubt she will, but if you think Thor being there will assist your agenda, then do so.' She suggested. 'And never come into my bathroom again when I am bathing, you're my father.'

'I never planned to do so, to begin with. But when your maids said you were in here and had not made any noise in over ten minutes and you did not answer when I called you, I thought the worst. The last thing I was concerned about was your state of dress.'

Sigyn said nothing more on the matter and looked at herself to ensure she was adequately dressed before stating she had to meet Fandral before going to lunch with Anastasia.

'Enter.' Anastasia ordered as she readied to see her great niece. She had expected the knock on her door and smiled at who entered. 'Well, you could have warned me of this Fandral boy.'

Thor bowed his head slightly. 'My last correspondence was at risk of interception, I could not risk it.'

'Our hands are being forced quicker than we want, but no matter. This will be fixed soon. I need you to do something for me.'

'Of course, anything.'

Anastasia smiled. 'You have changed so much. You will be a far greater King than your father and my brother ever were. You have compassion, true empathy, something they never had.' She put her hand on his arm. 'When your father steps down, Asgard will flourish under you.'

'If he finds out….'

'Sigyn and I will never allow you suffer for this, not when she realises what you have done for her. She is as loyal to you as you are to her and her family.'


	30. Chapter 30

Fandral sat looking at Anastasia, scared at what the woman would say.

'So, what is the story here?' She demanded. Sigyn merely sighed and pursed her lips with a raised brow. 'I see.'

Fandral stared between them, not understanding the silent conversation being had.

'I see he collared you, like a dog.' Sigyn raised her head slightly to show her aunt the contraption on it.

'I didn't…' Fandral began, staring at her in terror.

'Not you, her father.' Anastasia dismissed. 'What does that do, Duckie?'

'Controls my seidr, alerts my father to conversations I should not have and most fun of all, prevents me saying anything to alert people of certain aspects of my situation.'

'So you cannot tell this boy anything?' Anastasia pointed to Fandral, causing Sigyn to shake her head.

'Wait, you cannot tell me, not will not.' Fandral realised the reason for how Sigyn acted when he asked particular questions.

'I cannot, I would have been honest with you if I could, he has done the same with Thor too.' She admitted.

'What can you tell me?'

'She can tell you nothing, I cannot tell you much either, for my nephew has particular restrictions on my words also.' Fandral's eyes widened. 'I don't think you realise just how deep this situation is boy, but it can go no further with you so in the dark. I have recruited someone to help us, someone not as restricted.'

'Yet still somewhat so?' Fandral noted.

'Yes. He cannot say all either. My nephew cannot stand the idea of this getting out, so he silenced all those who know. The only grace we have is he is not as young as he was, back when he was of the opinion that the best way to silence people was to do away with them. There is a loophole to all of this though, if you figure it out, it can be spoken of in your presence.'

'Who?' Sigyn asked curiously

'You have had someone looking out for you here Duckie, you knew it, but not as much as you thought.' Anastasia smiled before turning slightly. 'Thor?' Her great-nephew walked into the room grinning.

'You…' Sigyn looked between them.

'When you said Aunt Ana knew everything, she was the only one I could think to talk to about this, to try and fix this.' Thor explained.

Sigyn bit her lips together and rose from her seat to rush to her brother, embracing him tightly. 'Thank you.'

'I have your back Sig, I promise.' He hugged her back. When she finally let go enough, he turned her to the table. 'Have you this room locked down?' Thor asked.

'I do. Mother will think she is hearing you blabber on about your time in Vanaheim, and that I am bored senseless as Fandral adds to your story. Same with the staff.'

'Staff are safe though, right?' Fandral asked.

'My very own handmaid was the one that revealed everything.' Sigyn stated coldly.

'What happened her?'

Sigyn sneered. 'Four months as a snake for a snake, it took six healers, Mother and Gungnir to reverse it.'

'You always had a mean streak.' Thor commented.

'Thor, tell this boy what you can.' Anastasia ordered. 'He has been in the dark too long.'

'So, if I guess something right, you can confirm it.' Fandral checked.

'Yes.' Sigyn confirmed.

Fandral looked to Thor, who seemed uncertain. 'I will follow you, no matter what, Thor, you know that.'

'Sigyn was being sent off realm for her actions for the past year or so, Father was going to forbid her return, he thought her a danger to the house.'

Fandral looked at Thor, appalled. 'Sigyn?' He pointed to her. 'Sigyn the Loyal, betray the House of Odin, how? Run to Laufey?' There was a silence before Fandral looked at her in shock. 'Did you?'

'Not exactly.' Sigyn explained. 'I was forced into a situation where conversing with him was the only option. For the record, surprisingly calm and not bloodthirsty.'

'We will have to take your word for it?' Fandral did not know what else to say.

'I was thrown there, I did not seek him, but he found me, as I tried to find a way off.'

'Why were you thrown there?'

'I was fleeing here. I was going elsewhere, but the Bifrost was diverted en route.'

'What?' Sigyn's face made him realise. 'The Allfather sent you to….' She nodded. 'Why?'

'I messed up, more than usual.'

'I don't understand.'

'Sigyn met someone….unsuitable in our parents' eyes, and….' Thor tested as much as he could, but could feel something akin to a tightening in his throat in his mind. 'Things happened and our parents did not take it well.'

Fandral looked at Thor, then back to Sigyn, who looked deeply hurt by the mention of it alone. 'Oh. Is he…?'

'Cast off Asgard, with his parents, they are never allowed return, never permitted to speak with Sigyn or about her again.' Thor looked at Sigyn, who clearly was heartbroken at the thought of it. 'I wish I could say more, but I cannot.'

'There is more? How can there possibly be more?' Fandral looked amongst them. He came to a conclusion but felt strange saying it in front of Anastasia. 'Was there….did you…?'

'Yes.' Sigyn rolled her eyes at his lack of ability to say the words. 'You know, for one known to partake in that, a lot in court and who brags about it, you'd think you'd be able to say the words.'

'Well…' Fandral eyed Anastasia.

'Boy, with all that has occurred, and with as long as I am around, I am damn well versed in the actions youths partake in. Do you think I sat around waiting to bestowed with how to enjoy my husband and him me?' Fandral and Thor looked at her shocked while Sigyn smirked, trying not to laugh. 'Men, do they think we know nothing?' She asked Sigyn.

'I find it funny that they partake in such activities, with women I might add, then are surprised women know about these things.' Sigyn laughed.

Anastasia chuckled. 'Indeed.'

'So, the Allfather found out?' Fandral asked.

'Per se.' Anastasia answered.

Fandral could not comprehend what they were saying exactly with that answer but understood enough to know that Sigyn's actions had angered her father. 'And this man...you loved him?' He ventured. One look at Sigyn's face told him everything. 'You still do.'

'Yes.'

'So casting you to Midgard was to prevent you seeing him again? Or was that because of the idea he had you would exact revenge for the Allfather's actions?'

'Both, but mostly the latter.' She explained. 'I am sorry to drag you into this.'

Fandral sighed and rubbed his hands over his face before looking at her, and then at Thor. 'I accepted this before hearing any of it because Thor asked me to assist. It is far more complex than I ever could have imagined, but I do not regret my choice to assist.' Sigyn and Thor both gave him identical grateful looks. 'What happens if this farce is revealed?'

'I will not allow any ill fall towards you, my friend.' Thor swore.

Fandral nodded his head as he looked at his friend, before he frowned and looked at the hand on his arm, he followed it, as though half expecting it not to be Sigyn's, but to his surprise, she was indeed attached to it and the look in her eyes one he had never seen from her with genuine meaning before bar when she swore they would not be wed. 'Fandral, I need you to swear something, please.' He nodded. 'I know we have asked too much of you as it is, but if my parents find out, I need you to feign ignorance.' He frowned. 'I will take all the blame for this, I will say I played you and your true affections, but you have to swear you will act as though you were truly invested in this, please.'

'But you….'

'You do not understand everything fully, if this is found out, I am banished anyway, it will make no difference to my punishment. I will take full blame for this.'

Fandral shook his head slightly. 'I cannot possibly…'

'You have to, you do not understand Fandral, I cannot live with getting you in trouble for this, you do not deserve it, after all you have done for me.' Sigyn beseeched.

'I cannot allow you take full blame, I have merely a slight bit of this clearly complex story, but all I can see is that you are being persecuted for a matter of love. You clearly still love him for Norn's sake. I…'

'I am sorry. I never wanted you to question all of this. My father has wronged me, I will never pretend otherwise, but he is a good king, and he does still remain king. I am not doing this to revolt against the king, merely because I cannot pretend what happened never did.'

'You are stronger than I am.'

'Please,' She dismissed, 'I knew that since I was seven hundred.' She joked with a wink.

Fandral and Thor chuckled as Fandral took her hand in his. 'I will not pretend that I know the full extent of your suffering, Sigyn. I cannot even pretend to, but I cannot deny the sheer strength you possess to continue as you do.'

'If only you knew, my friend.' Thor shook his head as he spoke.

'Now with that much cleared up, tell me about Vanaheim, Thor.' Anastasia smiled as she began to eat.

Fandral leant towards Sigyn slightly. 'She is mental.'

'I know, why do you think I adore her so much.' She smiled in return.


	31. Chapter 31

Loki paced as he waited. Anastasia stated she would return to inform him of the goings on in Asgard, he was almost frantic. There was a rumour, one that made him feel an incredible gripping pain in his stomach. That Sigyn was engaged to be married, to what could only be described as the love of her life. He did not know if there was any truth to it, all he knew was he needed to know what was really going on. When he heard horses passing, the first few he checked, but they either continued going or they wanted his father for a reason, so he remained pacing, but not looking out the window.

'You are making Narfi dizzy.' His mother commented.

Loki looked at his son, who did indeed seem to be almost unable to focus. 'Sorry.'

'She said she would return today, but not a time, you have to be patient.'

'I cannot be, I need to know.'

'If she has…'

'No...I…' His eyes filled with tears. 'She wouldn't.'

'But she may very well have, Loki.'

'No, she wouldn't.' He repeated.

'She has.' They turned to see Anastasia in the doorway. 'In two weeks, it will be announced to the realms that Princess Sigyn of Asgard is marrying Lord Fandral Evanson of Asgard later this year.' Loki's eyes were wide as a pained sound left his mouth. 'Now, listen to me Duckie and I will tell you everything.' Anastasia sat down on a vacant chair, stealing Narfi from his father as she did so. 'Odin thought to banish Sigyn to Midgard, permanently. Thor heard this, knowing the only way to keep her on realm was to imply she was no issue, the most obvious way to do so was a courtship. He called in his close friend to assist, they have acted as though they are courting, but my idiot nephew is pushing a marriage, without their wishes being taken into consideration.'

'So she does not…'

Anastasia shook her head. 'No, Duckie, her heart only has one name in it, yours.' Loki could not stop the gasp of relief and elation at her words. 'She knows I am speaking with you.' He looked at the older woman. 'She wanted you to know, it is all a rouse, there is only you. When she sensed these little cherubs magic, she cried, knowing they are with you. She wishes more than anything to be with you, Duckie. She is being forced to bide her time, but she wants to be with you and these two angels. She wanted me to give you a letter, but he knew she could try and made sure she couldn't have correspondence with you, thankfully she is far smarter than her father. He doesn't realise it, but she has taken back all her seidr. She only needs to bide her time, as much as it is killing her to do so.' Anastasia looked to Narfi, who was looking at her curiously. 'You sense her, don't you, Little One.' Loki frowned. 'Seidr is so strong, it those who hone their skills can sense others nearby. Your two beautiful boys cannot hone it yet, but they can sense it, from their time in their mother. Her seidr nurtured them, so of course, it soothes them. She will be with you, as soon as is possible.'

'When?'

'I cannot say for sure.' Anastasia explained. 'It needs to be done carefully, if he suspects before we are ready, then he will ensure she never sees these beautiful boys.' She looked sadly at Narfi. 'She never even got to hold you, how cruel can anyone be, to prevent your mother even knowing what you were.'

'What?' Loki and his mother asked in unison.

'She didn't even get to know if the second one was a girl or a boy. Thor informed her of her sons' genders.' Anastasia looked directly at Loki's mother as she spoke again. 'I know you question my great-niece's want to be with her children. From what Loki told me of your struggles, I understand that to you could not comprehend allowing yourself be divided from them, but Sigyn has not got that luxury, she is in a situation that complicates things in a manner we cannot always understand.' She explained.

'I just….'

Anastasia nodded. 'I understand, I do. To those of us that were not able to have our own, the idea of others not with theirs is unfathomable.' Anastasia gave a knowing look, to which the other woman was able to understand her meaning. 'Sigyn is crippled by the need to be with her children, just understand that.' She nodded.

'Then we prepare.' Loki stated, his mood raised by their exchange of words. 'If she says she will get here, I believe she will.'

'She will, Duckie. And I swear to you, whatever you hear of her and this Fandral boy, it is nothing. There is nothing there, on either of their parts.' Loki nodded. 'It will not be long.'

'Thank you, Ana, I cannot put into words…'

'Stay the course, Duckie. Stay the course. I will not leave the realms until I see you and my beloved Sigyn together again with your children.'

'Hey.' Dafydd stared at Loki as the other man seemed almost giddy upon his arrival to the forge. 'Are you okay?'

'Better than it.' Loki beamed.

'So the Duchess returned?'

'Yes.'

'And?'

'The rumours are true.' Loki seemed almost on the verge of giggling.

'The one where the mother of your children, the woman you love, is to wed another man?' Loki nodded elatedly. 'I am failing to see how is this a good thing?' Dafydd admitted, confused.

'It is a ruse.'

'A ruse?'

'She doesn't love him, they do not even want this, it is being forced by the Allfather, neither of them want it, they are doing everything to try and stop it. She...she loves me still. She is trying to find a way to us.'

Dafydd took a moment to process what Loki told him. 'Okay….I think…?'

'There is nothing to think, she does not want him.'

'But if she is forced to wed him?'

'It will not come to that.'

'You seem so certain.'

'You don't know her, or indeed Ana, they will very much get this done if they say they will.' Loki smiled.

Dafydd, though he was doubtful, could not argue Loki's words. He knew little of the Duchess of Asgard, merely that she was a formidable woman, and of Princess Sigyn, he had gone and asked his own family about the Aesir royal, but there was little to be said, she was apparently very beautiful and looked like the Allmother, of her character and mind, nothing was really known. 'I hope for you and those two tykes that you're right. I only want you all to be happy.' Dafydd smiled.

'Thank you, my friend.' Loki beamed in response.


	32. Chapter 32

'Sig?' Sigyn turned to look at her brother. 'Are you okay?'

'I was right, Father had her searched on her departure.'

'Yes, he did.' Thor confirmed, having watched angrily as his father had the head of his guards ensure there was no correspondence taken off-realm with Anastasia. 'Did she have anything?'

'No, I had a strange feeling last moment and took my letter back.'

'Good, it would thwart our plan.' Thor sat beside her, looking at her studiously. 'You look a lot like Mother.'

Sigyn looked at him, somewhat startled by the comment. 'And you look a lot like Odin, what's your point?'

'Do I?'

'Yes, in a lot of ways you do, though, apparently he had almost auburn hair and we both have blonde, so I can safely assume we get that from Mother. I have his eyes though.'

'Your son has odd eyes, they were almost purple.'

'Yes, it makes some sense I suppose, red of Jotnar with my blue.' She smiled sadly. 'Norns, I get so angry and jealous that you saw them and I did not.'

'I wish it were the other way around, I really do.'

'I know.' Sigyn sighed. 'I am glad it was you that held him first though, someone who loves and cares for him.'

'They look different you know, did I tell you that?'

'No.' She looked at him curiously.

'Yes, they are not identical, or they were not, at least. I have no idea what they look like now. One had black hair, the first one, the second had brown.' Sigyn tried to imagine them. 'They had some markings, Jotnar ones, and the first one's skin was more bluish pale.' She frowned. 'What?'

'Loki doesn't look anything like one.'

'Really?' She shook her head. 'Does it skip a generation perhaps?'

'I don't know.'

'I cannot believe he is Laufey's son, that two such lines have been brought together,' Sigyn nodded in agreement. 'What about his mother?'

'I looked into it, I can't find out anything about her.'

'Did he not know?'

Sigyn shook her head. 'No, he never asked about his birth parents. His adoptive ones love him with such intensity he never cared to find out.' She smiled sadly.

'Do you want me to see what I can find out?'

'How?'

'Heimdall?' Sigyn's eyes widened and she looked at her brother shocked. 'You never thought to ask him?'

'To my shame, no.' She pulled Thor along until they were in a small room before turning around and locking the door. 'Right, now for you to see another of my party tricks.' She smiled as she walked back to him. Thor eyed her warily. 'You hardly doubt I trained so much at seidr simply to annoy you and your friends, did you?' She smirked before touching him so that her magic surrounded them both.

'Princess,' Heimdall's voice echoed around them before he appeared in front of them. 'Prince Thor.' He bowed slightly.

Thor was too busy realising that they were not in the room they had been in a moment before but in the Bifrost dome. 'How…?'

'Not the time. Heimdall, I need to know something.' Sigyn smiled.

'Her name was Lady Sasha of Vanaheim, she was a close childhood friend of the Allmother. Her family thought her peculiar for her fascination with the Jotnar, but back then, there was no war with them. She moved to Alfheim, and there, she found the portal to Jotunheim, and in turn to him, King Laufey.'

'Was she...did she consent?' Sigyn asked.

'Con….they were wed, she adored him, and him, her.' Sigyn frowned. 'What is it?'

'Laufey made a comment about Frigga, how she was beautiful, were you to find such looks beautiful. I thought he did not find Aesir and Vanir appearances appealing. Marrying a Vanir sort of contradicts that.'

'His opinion on them was altered by his wife's death.'

'What happened?'

'One of his most trusted lieutenants was the brother of his first wife, Bylistr's dam, she died during the birth. He saw the marriage as a mockery to his sister and worried for his nephew's right to the throne. Queen Sasha knew that she was in danger. The lieutenant, he concocted a story, using Laufey's love for his queen to have them harm Earth, starting the war with Asgard. Laufey went and warred, his lieutenant killed Sasha, but not before she hid her son in the temple. Laufey did not know, he thought both she and the baby perished, instead, Loki was brought to Asgard, and the rest, as they say, is history.' The Guardian explained.

'Norns.' Sigyn took a moment to process what she was hearing.

'So Loki is fully royal?'

'As legitimate as the both of you.' Heimdall confirmed. 'Laufey knows he found his lost son, by the way.'

'And?'

'He does nothing, yet. But he keeps an eye on things. If any attempt to harm Loki, or Narfi and Vali, they will have a war.'

'Including Father?'

'It is no secret their contempt for one another. Now that Laufey has found out what happened to his second son, he will not see any reason to consider speaking with Odin, especially all of this considered.'

'But Father saved Loki, technically?' Thor argued.

'Yes, and for that, Laufey is relieved, but he has his own keeping eye on things. Your absence from the situation was noted, and he has done his own checking, so too does he knows it is forced, that, to him is insulting and angering. The Jotnar see this as nothing short of an insult.'

'Well, that is understandable, considering it is the one alliance of houses that will not be considered.' Sigyn scoffed.

'Does Father know that he is legitimate?' Thor questioned.

He does now, not at the beginning.' Heimdall informed him.

'You would think then that he would allow it.'

'Thor, this is nothing to do with Loki's birth status, this is solely based on his race.' Sigyn growled, Thor gave an odd look in response. 'Don't look so baffled, you hated them all your life too.'

'I was taught to hate them. Now, with what they did for you, with my nephews…actually, why are they more Jotnar looking than their father?'

'Odin put a glamour on Loki Tomásson to ensure he did not look different, but he is more Jotnar in appearance than his sons.'

'Is that the magic I sensed in him, Odin's?'

'No, Lady Sasha learned seidr with the Allmother, he would have it in his genes also.' Heimdall explained. 'You are about to receive company.' He warned.

'Damn.' Sigyn sensed it also. 'Thank you again, Heimdall.'

'Any time princess. I thought you would like to know.' The royal siblings looked at him. Vali was the firstborn, Narfi second. They are more like you than you think.'

'Thank you.' Her voice failed her as she spoke the words causing it to come out silently, but was able to see their meaning on her lips.

She had barely made it that she and Thor were back in the room they had gone into and unlocked the door before it opened. A moment later, Odin and Frigga entered the room. 'What is going on here?' Odin growled, not liking the atmosphere in the room.

'I was speaking to Thor with an issue regarding Fandral and since this palace has ears, I thought it best to ask him in private.' Sigyn gave a clearly fake smile at her parents.

'Concerning?'

'His Name's Day, it is in a few days. I am to have dinner at their home for it and I want to check something with Thor.' Sigyn refused to go into specifics.

Odin looked between his children, Thor nodding slightly as he did so. 'Very well.' He conceded. 'We will be eating in half an hour, both of you get ready.'

'Together?'

'No, you two will eat alone and your mother and I dine with the Vanir royals, of course, together.' He growled and left the room.

'Did you know they were here?' Sigyn asked Thor, he merely shook his head in response.

'Thor, please go get ready.' Frigga instructed. Sigyn paused and waited for whatever her mother had to say as Thor left the room. 'Are you really going to Fandral's home?'

'Yes, I would not have said it otherwise.'

'Sigyn…'

'Look, I am doing as you want, I am being the good little daughter I was always expected to be in public, but in private, I don't care. You can say what you want now, but where was your voice when I was begging to have a chance to hold my sons, to say goodbye to them, where was it then? You were the silent woman then, watching, crocodile tears in your eyes, not even looking at him as the healer past you. I will never forget that, or forgive.' She walked past her mother towards the door. 'And if I have forty children after this, I am never going to forget it, so do not dare act the doting grandmother then because you do not deserve that role.' She snarled before leaving the room, Frigga inside trying and failing to keep her composure.


	33. Chapter 33

Sigyn sat politely listening as Fandral's mother nattered on and on about inconsequential matter through the dinner, his father, she was amused to see, was a quiet man, saying little to his wife as she continued to tell the table of how Lady Isabella had the audacity to outright copy Lady Evanna's drawing room layout and not even having the decency to alter the colour to make it seem like she had not done so. Fandral looked at her apologetically while Sigyn gave the slightest shake of her head, dismissing his concerns, though there was a slight smile on her face at the mundane issues that clearly bothered his mother.

There were a few mentions of the wedding, but for the most part, Fandral and Sigyn made it clear that they were not concerning themselves too greatly with the issue at that present time.

'I apologise.' Sigyn looked at Fandral as he walked her through his parents' home as she went to take a carriage back to the palace.

'It's fine, if anything, it was refreshing.' Fandral gave her a look of disbelief. 'Have you any idea how envious I am that your mother's chief concern in like is Lady Isabella's choice in drawing room decor, Norns I wish I had so little to worry me. She is to be envied, it means she is relatively happy with her lot.'

Fandral thought about her words. 'She is, from what I gather.'

'Then, yes, she is enviable. Although, I am curious, is that what you want in a wife, a woman like your mother?'

'Yes, I do. I know she is not the most educated woman in the realms and I know she is not seen as too beautiful, but she and my father were a love match and as you can see from the fact I have four siblings, they are still very happily wed.'

Sigyn smiled slightly and nodded. 'Yes, that is clear to see.'

'You don't approve of such a woman though, do you?'

'I just find it funny that you thought to ask to court me if that is what you wanted. I am in no way like your mother.' She explained. 'I don't think the princess who broke all protocol with her actions with a commoner has the right to disapprove of anyone, do you?'

'I find myself very curious as to what exactly happened to make this such a situation that the Allfather would all but drag you into a marriage.'

'I disappointed him, more than usual.' she shrugged.

'If you knew your actions through the years were not aiding your relationship with him, why did you do it?'

'Because it was the…' she swallowed. 'I did it for the wrong reasons and I paid a cost I never thought possible.'

'Marriage to me?'

Sigyn scoffed. 'Norns, there are far worse things, I can assure you.'

'And the Allfather made it that you cannot...' he ceased speaking as she raised her chin, revealing the choker to him. 'I never thought….'

'Odin is still a good king, I can acknowledge that.'

'Do you hate him?' She did not answer. 'And the Allmother?' Again, Sigyn said nothing. 'I really am missing a large portion of this story, aren't I?'

'Yes.' She acknowledged. 'I wish I could tell you.'

'Thank you, I think Thor feels the same.'

Sigyn gave a small smile before sensing something and leaning in against him, causing Fandral to frown slightly. 'Your mother is looking at us, with who I can assume is your brother, I have not seen him in a hundred years, he is a bit bigger than he was before.'

'It is terrible for the waistline when your wife happens to insist on pies for dinner most days.'

'I think he will rival my father if he is not careful.'

Fandral chuckled as he put his arm around her. 'Is this weird, loving him and having to do this with me?'

'No, because there is no conflict in my mind, there is only him, everything I am doing now, is to…'

'You are trying to get back to him.' Fandral realised. 'How, the Allfather will not just let you run off realm?'

'I have to try.'

'Why?'

'Because…' she tried to force it out but was unable to. 'You can't understand.' She looked sadly at him before leaning up and kissing him for show in front of his spying mother, who Sigyn ensured was unable to hear them.

'You're really good at that.' Fandral noted almost suspiciously.

'You're alright too.'

'Only alright? Or not him.'

'I don't know, maybe you hit the nail on the head with that.'

'How do you know he is being as loyal to you?'

'I trust him.'

'You really do love him.'

'Yes.' Was all she whispered on the matter. 'Thank you.'

'For what?'

'The evening.'

'You're kidding, right? My mother….'

'Is not all that bad, she sweats the little things, there's nothing too wrong with that.' Sigyn smiled. 'When this is over Fandral, I swear I will not rest until I find you the sort of woman that would love the role you wish for a wife.'

'If this ever ends.'

'Nothing lasts forever, this feels like forever, but it's not.'

Sigyn paid little notice to her surrounds as she walked through the palace. She had little interest in anything in her environment. All she cared about was finally getting to see her sons, to hold them. She had no idea when that would be, but she swore to herself several times a day, it was going to happen.

She only became aware of anything of note when two Einherjar stood in front of her, blocking her path. 'Yes?' She asked, terrified in her mind of what her father would want the two guards to do with her.

'The Allfather requests you join him in the private rooms, immediately.' The more senior Einherjar informed her.

'Wonderful.' When they did not move, she sighed. 'It is a request or am I to be escorted?' Their lack of response made it clear which it was, which concerned her greatly. Using her seidr to arm herself unbeknownst to them, she walked on, the pair following behind her.

When she got to her parents quarters, a guard posted at their door opened it for her without even announcing her inside. Readying in case she needed to defend herself, she walked in. Inside was her father, standing looking at something on a scroll she could not read from that distance, as though sensing her glaring at him from behind, he turned to face her. 'Leave, everyone, now.' He ordered. Any staff that were in the room as well as the guards, all make a hasty exit.

'Is something the matter?'

'You were with Fandral's family this evening, I believe?'

Sigyn was in no humour for small talk with her father. 'I was.'

'Interesting affair?'

'Only if you care that one lady is after stealing the layout of another's drawing room.'

'I beg your pardon?'

'Fandral's mother was scandalised as to the actions of Lady Isabella in her mimicking Lady Evanna's drawing room, it was a big fuss apparently, we miss all the scandal here in the palace.' She threw her eyes up.

'I see,' Odin eyed her carefully. 'Did any topic of actual interest arise this evening?'

'Do you think a whole evening would pass without the mention of this wedding? I have been informed that Fandral's nephew and nieces are all adamant they play a part in this. So now I have to check about getting dresses made for little girls, is that what you are referencing?' Odin eyed her even more studiously. 'Or you could just tell me what the Hel you dragged me here for because I can tell by the look on your face it is nothing to do with idle chit-chat or my evening in general, there is a particular reason for this conversation, so for Norn's sake, spit it out.'

'You tried to mention the past.' Odin stated factually.

'I was asked when I planned on adding to their family line and how motherhood would suit me, I wanted so badly to say the truth, that I already know some of it, but I could not, you made sure of it.'

'You cannot move on if you live in the past.' Odin growled. 'What good would that have done, to mention that? You could have ruined everything with Fandral, do you think he would simply accept you, tainted?'

'My body will tell him well enough on our wedding day, I am marked from carrying them, he is not stupid, he will notice it, with four to five thousand years of life left, do you think he will never see me unclothed, my marks will be seen.'

'You will be married then.'

'So we are okay with entrapment then? Sweeping issues under the rug does not make them go away, it only causes the ground beneath to become uneven and at risk of causing you to fall.'

'There are some things better left unknown.' Odin stated adamantly.

'I am actually beginning to fear what will happen after you die.' Sigyn admitted, causing Odin to stare at her. 'What other dirty secrets have you hidden over the years, what shocks are Thor and I going to have to deal with as a result of your actions, how many are even from before we were born?'

'Anything I have done, I have done for what is right.'

'Is that what we are going to have to state when wolves descend on Asgard after you decide to pop your clogs?'

'I am not going to "pop my clogs" anytime soon, don't you worry.' He snarled. 'Go to your rooms.'

'I will say to you now what I said since I was four hundred, "With pleasure".' She turned to leave before looking back at him again. 'You know, for about two minutes, I thought you actually wanted to know about my evening, if I had a pleasurable time, to check how I was. What sort of sentimental fool I have turned out to be. Those hormones must not be finished with me yet.' She shook her head as she left the room.


	34. Chapter 34

Thor thought through Anastasia's plan. It was brilliant, if it would work, the hardest part was getting his father to consent to such a thing, and that was by no means something he thought was going to be easy, but he had to try.

Sigyn was not able to keep her facade of happy bride-to-be all the time. He was fully aware that every day closer to the farce of a wedding was a day closer to her losing her mind. He inhaled deeply and decided to go and do what needed doing, and went to meet his friend.

En route, he was forced to stop by a bothered looking Sif. 'My dear friend, what is the matter, you seem somewhat perturbed.'

'What is really going on with Fandral and your sister?' Thor said nothing. 'It does not make sense, Sigyn hates us.'

'My sister had to make a choice, a suitable partner or banishment to Midgard, she chose the former and she chose to accept Fandral, that is all that needs to be known,' He stated, walking past her. 'What does it matter to you? Do you have reason to be envious?'

'Of Sigyn and Fandral? Nothing of the sort, but he is my friend and I don't want her using him as her next prank.'

'Sif, I cannot impress on you enough, do not continue this. Fandral and Sigyn are doing what is right for them, do not interfere.'

Sif was startled by Thor's demeanour on the matter. 'I do not…'

'Don't.'

'I will not.' She raised her hand as though swearing on something. 'Though, can I ask, is this to do with Sigyn's disappearance from public due to illness?' Thor looked at her, confused. 'For a few months, there was no sign of her apparently.'

'Yes, it has something to do with that.'

'Alright.' She accepted. 'Do you want to go training?'

'No, I can't now, I need to speak to Fandral about something. Maybe soon.'

'Thor.' She gripped his arm, causing the other God to be forced to look at her. 'I have no idea what is going on, but you can tell me.'

'You have no idea, it is true, but believe me when I say, I cannot tell you, honestly, I cannot.'

'I am here Thor, if you need me, as are the others.'

'Thank you, Sif, but at present, I need to deal with other matters, so I will talk more with you soon. I am sorry for not saying more.' There was an honesty to Thor's words that told the Warrior Woman of the turmoil that she could not comprehend, causing her to wonder what exactly was going on.

Fandral looked at Thor, worried. 'I'm not going to lie, I am worried.'

'What is there to fret about, we are going to Vanaheim for a few days, meeting with friends, why would you not bring your betrothed with you?'

'Because none of us has ever done that. When have you seen Volstagg and Hogun bring their wives to our outings?'

'Their wives are not my sister.'

'This will never cease to be wrong and odd.' Fandral shook his head. 'What if the Allfather finds out?' He demanded.

'We can live in risk of that and do nothing or we can do this and end all this madness.'

'I am terrified as to what you are doing that you are not telling me, Thor.' Fandral confessed.

Thor put his hand on his friend's shoulder. 'I swear to you, as Sigyn has, that none of my father's wrath will fall on you, should this all come to light.'

'I am hoping for more than a "should" here, Thor. I have come to realise that Sigyn is far more complex and dare I say it, incredible, in the time she and I have been in one another's company, but I do not want to marry your sister.'

'You asked for her permission to court before.' Thor pointed out.

'I was not aware her heart was not there to win.' Fandral explained. 'She loves this other man, nothing will sway that, her conviction to being reunited with him is incredible. She really is Sigyn the Loyal.'

Thor stood, silently wishing he could tell Fandral just how much Sigyn was fighting for.

'I cannot lie, I am somewhat envious of this man, to have someone's love like that. I hope he realises how lucky he is. Do you think we will ever be so fortunate?'

'I like to hope so, but in reality, I am not sure. Sigyn is so unique, to put other women against her, perhaps that is to set them up to fail.' Thor shrugged. 'Fandral, I know I have asked too much of you thus far, and I find myself asking too much of you again, but please, we need to do this for Sigyn, she will err soon if she does not get this, and if that happens, I cannot see a way forward from this for her.'

Fandral thought over what his friend was asking of him, sighing heavily before rubbing his hands over his face. 'Yes, I will do it. But if this does go wrong, Thor. Promise me that you will ensure my siblings and parents do not suffer.'

'I will give my life, should it be required to prevent it.'

Fandral frowned. 'What has happened? What has occurred to cause such conviction in you, to have you say such words?'

'Do you recall the day you realised there are worse things than dying?' Thor asked.

Fandral's eyes widened at such a question. 'Yes, after the battle on Vanaheim where the soldier lost his sight, an arm and his speech, he lay there, moaning in an attempt to talk in what I still am convinced today was a plea to end his life.' Fandral found himself thinking specifically of that moment before looking to Thor. 'Why, what has this to do with our current conversation?'

'I have seen it happen my own sister. I have seen her suffer something none should ever suffer. There is no way that her sanity is not teetering as a result, I need to give her a chance to right the wrong.'

'Well, as they say, no time like the present.' Fandral stated as confidently as he could, Thor's startling words set to haunt him for a time to come as he thought of Sigyn and her torment, whatever it was.

Odin looked at his son and soon to be son-in-law, contemplating their words. 'So, just the three of you, no Volstagg, Hogun and Sif?'

'No, they felt as though they were imposing. The dynamics of this are still somewhat blurred to them.' Thor grinned.

'I am sure it is odd for them, yes.' Odin acknowledged. 'But all things considered, I am not sure I can consent. Fandral and Sigyn are not yet wed. Were you to…'

'Father, please, Fandral and I will share quarters, I will ensure nothing happens.'

'I would consent if the Lady Sif were to go also, or else, all of your grouping but the three of you alone, no I will not.'

'I will speak with them.' Thor responded, wondering how he could explain enough, yet say nothing about the situation to the other warriors.

Odin gave a small nod before dismissing them. 'On second thought, Fandral, if you could remain for a moment.'

Fandral froze in fear, looking to Thor pleadingly, though he knew there was nothing that Thor could do to assist before forcing himself to turn around. 'Of course, Allfather.'

Thor was about to argue to stay to when he caught his father's eye and felt that it was nothing too problematic and his remaining would cause it to become so. 'I will go in search of the others, find me when you are done.' He gave a smile and a clap on the shoulder to tell Fandral that it was nothing to concern himself with, which did little to quell the other man's worries.

As soon as Thor left, Fandral inhaled deeply and faced the Allfather properly. Odin rose from his seat and walked towards him, Gungnir in hand, which did nothing to quench the terror that was gripping him. 'I wish to speak with you, concerning my daughter.'

'Yes, Allfather?'

'From what I have seen, everything seems to be going well between you both.'

'I like to think so, Allfather.'

Odin clapped his shoulder as his son had done. 'Good. I am aware I have not had much to do with the majority of this romance. There is a line with Sigyn that I have learned not to cross anymore, one I have interfered with in this part of her life already.'

Fandral wondered if Odin was going to reveal something of Sigyn's lover or of the crucial part of the puzzle that he was clearly missing, but he said nothing of it.

'I pushed this courtship along in a manner that was not right, according to my daughter at least, I did not allow for her to be courted as she wished to be.'

Fandral knew of the conversation in question from his own conversing with Sigyn. 'Yes, I know she was hoping for such things but she does understand her position clearly.' He smiled.

Odin was slightly taken back by his knowing the conversation, but he took it as his daughter confiding in her betrothed, and not her angered ranting, as the case had been. 'Good, wonderful. And who knows, very soon, once the wedding is done and dusted, if you were to have a few children, she would be too busy to worry about such things.'

Fandral frowned for a moment at Odin's comment, but nodded and bade his farewells before leaving, a false smile on his face as he walked outside before finding his way to Thor, startled by Odin's comments.

'Fandral?' He turned to see Volstagg smiling jovially behind him before frowning. 'My friend, are you alright?'

'Eh...yes?'

'Dare I ask?'

'I was just speaking with the Allfather.'

'Regarding...Sigyn?' Fandral nodded. 'And, is there an issue?'

'None.'

'Then I fail to see the issue.'

'How long are you and Susannah married?'

'Coming up on three hundred years.' Volstagg boasted proudly.

'And Astrid is your only child?'

'Unless I failed to count otherwise, she will be our first, yes?' Volstagg was baffled by Fandral's statement since his wife was indeed expecting their first child, a girl, due in two months time. 'After only three hundred years, it is somewhat the norm to only be starting your family now, we are still quite young, I do not think her mother is too pleased.'

'And Hogun and Ingrid are wed a hundred years?'

'Hundred and fifty if I am not mistaken, and before you ask, no, there are no children there. She is hardly a thousand one hundred for Norn's sake.' Fandral gave a peculiar nod. 'I have to ask, what in Valhalla's name is going on?'

'Sigyn is nine hundred.'

'Yes, Thor's thousandth Name's Day was last year and she is under a century younger than him.'

'So she is far too young to be considered to become a mother?'

'She is barely a legal adult.' Volstagg stated almost shocked at the idea. 'She is only allowed court with six months at most and in my opinion, and I mean no malice, my friend, this courtship is already too fast heading to a wedding, a child is not a good idea at all.'

'Exactly.' Fandral agreed. 'The wedding is too much.'

'You did not propose to her?'

'No, the Allfather declared it.'

'Odin Allfather is shoving his barely adult daughter into marriage?' Volstagg asked, wanting clarification. 'Have you gotten her in trouble? Is that what these questions of a child are about?'

'What, no, I have not even lay with her.' Fandral commented.

'Really?' Volstagg was somewhat startled by that declaration. 'Though, I dare say she would not partake in certain acts before marriage, for the simple reason of that.'

'No, but the Allfather is all but stressing upon me the idea of having her with child promptly after the marriage, almost as though he wants it to be immediately after.'

'I think you are reading far too much into this. No father wants to promote his daughter being bedded, even by her husband, Susannah's stepfather still is not talking to me for getting her pregnant and we are married three hundred years.'

'Perhaps.' Fandral dismissed, though only because it was clear his friend would not listen to his concerns on the matter. He knew only Thor and perhaps Sigyn would know if he was only being too cautious with his interpretation of the Allfather's words.


	35. Chapter 35

Odin pursed his lips as his son stood in front of him with his friends, giving a smile of equal parts smugness and politeness. 'Why do you even wish to bring your sister with you?'

'Father, Sigyn needs to get out of this palace, everyone does for Norn's sake. Even the staff get out every so often, she is to be wed soon and should at least have some fresh air before then.' Thor pressed.

'When she is wed perhaps Fandral will be interested in bringing her places, but until such times, I think it right for her to remain.'

'Father, what do you think will happen her in our company? I feel somewhat insulted, she is as good a fighter, if not better than the majority of the armies and is a terrifying wielder, she is far more adept at it than any other in our company. Lady Sif will be sharing quarters with her if you are concerned other things.' Thor ensured he made it that any attempts to prevent her being able to join them were seen as unreasonable.

'Lady Sif?' The warrior woman stood forward and bowed at the Allfather. 'At what age were you permitted to be alone with my son and the Warriors company?'

'My father never thought to stop me, but my mother allowed it at seven hundred.'

'I assume you gave them reason to trust you?'

'Of course, Allfather.' Sif thought it an odd question to ask.

Odin gave Thor a look to indicate that he had rubbished the argument. 'Considering Sigyn's, shall we call it mischievous nature, I am not sure if she is suited to such things.'

'Considering her more recent reined in behaviour, I would have thought it an apt reward for her compliance.' Thor smirked as his father became somewhat bothered by his words as well as notice his friends look at him for his odd choice of words.

'Fine, but should I hear of any sort of tomfoolery…'

'It is a simple few days in Vanaheim Father, nothing mad.' Thor swore.

'Be back in a week at the latest.' He growled.

Elated at getting what he wanted, Thor beamed at his father. 'Thank you, Father.'

Odin merely grunted in return, watching his son and his friends made to leave the room. Just as they got to the door, he called to his son again. 'In all of this, I am curious as to why Sigyn is not here?'

'She doesn't know.' Odin stared at his son. 'She was told nothing of this because, if I am honest, I did not think I could get you to consent and I did not want to bother her if you said no. It is a surprise for her.'

'She is not aware of this?'

Thor shook his head. 'No.'

'Then how can you say she would want it?'

'How can you say that she would not? This will be offered to her, she is free to decline, but I think her likely to agree. I know she is eager to leave the palace for a short time, if only to go for a ride. She mentioned how she misses Tempest recently.'

Odin thought of the stallion bred for his daughter from his own steed. Tempest, as the name suggested, was a stormy horse, violent and powerful and yet he did anything Sigyn wished of him. She adored that horse, and Odin knew it. 'Guard?' One standing close to door stood forward. 'Retrieve my daughter.' The guard nodded and walked out of the room to do as requested. 'Let us see what is her response.'

The Warriors and Sif frowned at Odin's actions, having just heard Thor say it was a surprise. Volstagg looked at Fandral, his face showing that there was perhaps some credence to his statement in their conversation regarding the Allfather and the peculiar manner in which he dealt with his daughter.

Sigyn entered the room looking more like a wounded prey animal being cornered by a hungry wolf than a princess. There was almost terror in her eyes as she looked at her father. It was only when Thor stood forward did she realise he and his friends were there. Looking at them all, she relaxed slightly, knowing her father would not do anything too rash in front of them. 'You called on me, Allfather.'

Her cold demeanour was not missed by any in the room, including her father. 'Thor has a suggestion for you.'

'And has Thor lost the gift of speech that he could not tell me himself or are you upholding a new tradition of spoiling every last attempt of a surprise in my life? I suppose, should the day come, you will tell me I am pregnant, or what gender the child is, or indeed when I am next due to go to the damn bathroom.' Odin gave her a contemptuous glare which she happily returned in kind. 'Thor, have you lost the ability to speak?' She looked at him as though curious.

'Not that I am aware of.'

'So had you planned to ask me something or was I dragged here for no reason whatsoever?'

'Well, I had planned to do something better than this, but all things considered,' He gave his father a disapproving look. 'The warriors and I are going to Vanaheim for a few days, nothing overly exciting. Seeing friends, perhaps even some relaxation, I thought of making it a belated coming of age for you, since you never actually did anything for your and I went off gallivanting for six weeks for mine. I know you do not want hunting lodges and drinking as I had, this is more sedate, but with Fandral there too, I thought you would like to one, though, you will have share lodgings with Sif, Father made that obvious request.'

Sigyn turned and looked at her father. 'I...you would let me go?' Odin gave a small and clearly displeased nod. 'Yes. I…please.' She turned to Thor as she spoke.

'You have not left the palace in three years except to go to Fandral's home, I think it only fair you get a small break, especially with all of the concerns of getting married, taking time away, with your betrothed, is good and healthy in my opinion.' he smiled in a way that had both of his married friends agreeing immediately and challenged his father.

'When are we leaving?' Sigyn asked.

'Today.'

'Absolutely not.' Odin rose to his feet. 'Plans will have to be put into place.'

The warriors frowned as Thor stood forward. 'Such as? There has never been an issue with our leaving before?' but Thor knew well his father's plans. To ensure Sigyn did not run and find her way to Alfheim. 'Send your beloved birds with us or something of that manner, but we are leaving today.' He insisted. 'Sig, get packed.' She did not wait for her father to argue, Sigyn left the room to do so. 'Fandral, Sif, ensure she has everything she requires.' Thor did not take his eyes off his father as he spoke, the pair doing as he requested. 'Volstagg, you and Hogun have the horses readied.' They left also. 'Father, you cannot think to make this different from any other time I went with my friends anywhere and expect none to question. Sigyn and Fandral are to be wed in two months and you will not allow them the ability to mould into this new manner of life. Sigyn is to be my friend's wife, she will, as a result, join us all often now and that means her being welcomed by Hogun and Volstagg as well as Sif, this is the most natural way to blend her to our group, she is more alike to them than you think, this will allow them to see that. She will have great, plentiful and loyal friends this way, we can heal her so much better if she feels she does not have to linger on it.'

Odin had not expected that to be Thor's argument to be on such logic, he had expected his son to argue something else completely, to say he would fight him on the matter or such, he had not suspected it to be based on such a logic and as a result, thought it nothing but a genuine attempt by Thor to have Sigyn be accepted by his friends. 'Very well, but I mean it, one inkling that there is something amiss, I will step in.'

'Yes, Father.'

'And different rooms for them. We don't need a repeat.'

'No, Father.' Thor nodded, turning and leaving the room.

He rushed through the palace until he got to the royal wing. He did not knock on the door and entered Sigyn's rooms. Fandral looked at him in concern. 'Has…?'

'No, we are still continuing.' Thor stated. He knocked on the door once. 'Sif, please come out, I need to speak with Sigyn alone.'

A baffled Sif did as requested and left the room, looking at Fandral as she did. When Thor entered, Sigyn was looking at him in bewilderment. 'Thor, what is going on?'

'How much of your seidr have you got?'

She gave him a look to show her confusion. 'All of it. He thinks I have about half though.'

'But you have it all?'

'Yes, with weeks, why?'

'Can you do something to Huginn and Muninn but not have them or Father know?'

'Yes, I have been doing that for a few hundred years.'

'Really?' Thor was shocked by that admission.

'Yes, it is not particularly difficult, they are just ravens.' She dismissed. 'Why?'

'He is sending them with us.'

'That's hardly surprising. But if we are….we are not going to Vanaheim, are we?'

'Oh, we are going to Vanaheim, there is no lie in what I have said. We are going there, and you are going to be staying with Sif and getting to know the warriors.'

'Then why do we need to do any of this?'

'For reasons.' He winked.


	36. Chapter 36

Sigyn walked out of the palace and to the stables with her brother without saying anything to anyone. His friends were already on their horses and another two pulling a cart. 'What's with the cart?'

'Our belongings, obviously.' Thor chuckled.

'Wait, so that means we will have to walk the horses if we plan on remaining with our belongings.'

'Yes, it is tedious but...what have you done?' Thor looked at the now empty cart that had glowed blue before all their belongings disappeared.

'When we get where we are going, I can bring them back.' She explained.

'Wait, so we don't need the cart?' Volstagg asked. Sigyn shook her head. 'She is coming everywhere with us from now on.'

Thor smiled at his sister. 'I guess we are getting there faster now.'

Sigyn mounted her horse, who seemed almost giddy for her to be there, and the group rode off, the staff that would have had to deal with the cart, relieved that they did not have to do so and began to untack the horses attached to it. A moment later, she looked to the sky before getting Thor's attention and indicating for him to do the same. As soon as he did, he looked back at her and shook his head. Above them, the two ravens flew through the skies, reporting back, through their sight, to their master, who watched with keen interest.

They made their way to the bridge slowly, being cautious of the people that populated the streets of Asgard, but once they got to the bridge, the horses were able to gallop, shortening the duration of their time on it drastically.

When they arrived at the Bifrost itself, Heimdall was looking around the realms. 'I should inform you it is raining on Vanaheim at present, though that is not an issue for you, considering.'

'How so?' Thor asked. Heimdall merely chuckled and looked to Sigyn, who was smirking. 'You can….?'

'Keep everyone dry, yes.'

'Okay, Volstagg is right, you are coming more often.'

Heimdall walked into the centre of the room and stuck Hofund into its place in the centre, starting the Bifrost. 'Pleasant travels to you all.'

As the group entered the Bifrost, the two ravens followed, and it took only a few moments before they were landed in a forest, righting themselves after their journey. Sigyn frowned and looked at Thor, who smirked at her.

It was then that Sigyn realised why that part of Vanaheim, she could sense something slightly in her seidr. Saying nothing, she analysed her brother more before walking forward, toward the inn they would be staying in.

Once inside, they watched as Sigyn did indeed give each of them back their belongings via her seidr. The men separated into their different rooms as Sif and Sigyn settled in theirs.

Sigyn could sense Sif looking at her, and as the tension rose, Sigyn became less tolerant of it. 'If you have something to say, please just say it. I don't need my dagger to cut the tension here.'

'What is going on?'

'I doubt you will believe me, but I don't really know.'

'And in general, with you and Fandral?'

'That is mine and Fandral's business and ours alone.'

'Are you out to hurt him?'

'If I am honest, I have a fondness now for Fandral that I do not think can ever be broken, he has been made privy to information about me and has been nothing short of caring and kind and I will always be loyal to those who are loyal to me.' Sif stared wide-eyed at her for such information. 'Does that satisfy your curiosity enough?'

'It is clear there is more at play than Hogun, Volstagg and I are not privy to, considering the Allfather's reaction to your coming with us, but I just want to make sure my friend is not going to be hurt.'

'Fandral is a crass and often does not think before speaking, but he is a good man, one of few, I understand and am happy to see your concern for him.' Sigyn smiled. 'But for the record, he does not understand my father's reaction either, only Thor and I know the reason for that.'

'What did you do this time?'

'Something far more unforgivable to him than anything I did before.' Sigyn responded. 'Now, I am starving, so I am getting food, I don't care what the rest of you do.'

Sigyn looked at the woodland that surrounded her.

'Can you sense it?' She turned to see Thor standing beside her.

'Yes.'

'I need you to do something.'

'What is it?'

'Have it that his birds can't see what we do.'

'I did that since the moment we got here.' Sigyn smiled proudly.

'Find the portal.'

'It's a mile North North East of here.' She replied.

'Get your horse.'

Thor and Sigyn rushed to the stables and grabbed their horses, the two creatures were born to the same sire, but they really were the difference between night and day. Sigyn's stallion was as dark as the darkest night, and Thor's as white as freshly fallen snow.

'Thor?' He turned to see Sif, Hogun and Volstagg looking at them. 'What is going on, Fandral would not tell us where you were?' The warrior woman asked.

'My friends, this expedition is not like any we have been on before. It is utterly against my father's command and the consequences are dire, I cannot explain, but I ask you to trust us and leave myself and Sigyn to this.'

Volstagg stood forward. 'My friend, we are here, no matter what the consequence. Fandral knows something is afoot, it is quite disheartening to think you cannot confide in us.'

Thor hung his head and inhaled deeply. 'It is not because of a belief that I cannot confide with you that I do this, my friends but of necessity.' He explained. 'I am sorry you feel it is a slight against you, I am. I cannot say more.'

Sigyn bit her lips together as guilt filled her at her brother's loyalty, she swallowed, but the lump in her throat did not leave. 'It is my fault.' Her voice broke as she spoke. 'It is my secret he is keeping and it is to protect me that he keeps it.' She explained.

'Thor, we will stand by you, no matter what the situation. It is clear from the Allfather's reaction to the Princess being here, there is something terribly amiss, but we can assist.' Hogun offered, the other two nodded in agreement. 'We understand better now, and respect that, but we can help.'

Thor looked to Sigyn who clearly was fearful that he would reveal her secret. 'Thank you, my friends. It is too much to ask to ask you to do something like this without knowing everything.'

We do not need to hear any more.' Volstagg insisted. 'We do not expect you to betray your sister's trust, as we know you would never betray ours. What do you need of us?'

The horses galloped through the woods at speed. Sigyn took the lead as she let her seidr guide her to where they had to go. When they arrived, she pulled her horse to a halt and looked at some inconspicuous looking rocks. Thor came up beside her. 'This is it?'

'Yes,' she confirmed. 'Where does it lead?'

''Where we need to go.' Is all her brother answered before urging his horse forward. Worriedly, Sigyn looked around them before doing the same herself.

When she came to the other side of the portal, it did not take her more than a moment to realise where she was. She looked at her brother. 'Come on.' He pressed his heels into the horse's sides and got it to trot on. As soon as the house came into view, he watched as Sigyn galloped passed him. She did not wait for her horse to come to a halt, she jumped from the saddle and rushed into the house as the animal was still moving. Her ankle could have been broken and she would never even have known it.

Running through the house, she went to the one room she knew she would find the resident of the dwelling. When she got to the drawing room she looked at those occupying the room.

'Hello, Duckie.' Anastasia smiled. 'Though I doubt I am high on your priority right now.'

As Sigyn looked at the other occupant of the room, she wept and rushed over. 'Please tell me I am not dreaming.'

'I hope not, because I don't think I can take it if it is.' Loki pressed his lips to hers.

As she reciprocated his actions, neither paid any heed to anyone else in the room.


	37. Chapter 37

Thor and Fandral felt as though they were intruding on something incredibly personal as Sigyn and Loki interacted for the first time since they were forced apart. They watched as the pair looked at one another as though terrified to blink would wake them from a dream.

'I didn't think I would see you again.' Loki confessed.

'I never stopped looking for ways to get to you.' Sigyn swore, looking into his rich green eyes. 'I am so sorry.'

'It was never your fault though.'

'But I have not stopped thinking...if I had been stronger….'

Loki cupped her face in her hands. 'I have never met anyone as strong as you. I was told of all you have endured since our separation, you are so much stronger than you realise, Sigyn.'

'You have too. Ana told me that you have them.'

'They are safe and so wonderful.' Her pain was clear in her eyes. 'I need to show you something.' He leant forward, kissing her for a moment before taking her hand and leading her out of the room.

Sigyn was going to question him for a moment but instead, she paused before looking at him. 'They…'

'Ana said you could sense them from them being in contact with her.' Sigyn's breath was shallow as she thought of her children. Loki held her hand tightly. 'Are you ready?'

With tears in her eyes and a feeling in her throat that was too tight to say anything, Sigyn nodded. Loki gave a small pull of her hand and the pair entered the next room.

Sigyn inhaled deep and looked in front of her. She bit her lips together as she looked at the large crib in the middle of the room. Part of her wanted to rush over, but her body would not work as she wanted to, and every step was slow and every moment was like a hundred hours to her as she walked over. As soon as she looked into the crib, she sobbed into her hand as she smiled.

Inside the crib, the two boys were sleeping, their hands touching as they did so. Even though both adults were silent on their entering the room, both boys started to stir, and wake. When the one with hair like their father opened his eyes, tears fell from hers. 'Hello.' He frowned for a second before sticking out his little tongue and kicking his legs. 'Hi.' she leant into the crib and took him gently into her arms, being careful of his little head as she brought him up and put him against her, kissing his head, gently rocking as she did. 'My beautiful baby boy.' She looked at Loki, who was just as emotional as she was. 'Which…?'

'Vali.'

'Vali.' She repeated in a whisper, kissing his head again. Vali, knowing his name, pushed himself slightly from her chest so to look at her. 'Hello, beautiful boy. I am so sorry I took so long, I have done nothing but think of you all, I promise, I swear I wanted nothing more than to be here with you.' She rambled, not wanted to let go of him.

Loki walked over and held out his arms to take Vali from her. For a moment, Sigyn looked like she did not want to let him take their son, but as she looked at Narfi, who seemed to realise he was being left out of something interesting, she unwillingly handed her son to his father and reached into the cot and took out their second son, who immediately reached out to touch his mother's face. 'And Narfi, of course.' Loki commented, his voice tight as he watched the interaction between mother and son.

'Hello, my handsome Narfi.' Sigyn wept, looking at her son, who gurgled and smiled at her, causing fresh tears to fall. Cuddling him close, she swayed a little again, kissing him lovingly. 'My babies.'

'You are natural at this.' Loki noted. 'I took a few days to get used to it.'

'I have been readying for this for months. I swore to myself I would get to my family or die trying, those were the only options for me.' She looked at him in a manner that showed him the sincerity of her words.

Loki swallowed at the mention of "my family" confirming, even more, the words from Anastasia that to Sigyn, there was only him and their children. He leant in and kissed her, leading to Narfi giving a little noise and babbled at his father. 'I get to kiss her too.' He chuckled. Both twins gurgled at his words. 'I knew her before you two terrors.' Vali joined in and banged his little fist onto his father's chest. 'Am I being forced to step back?'

'I think so.'

'Five minutes, just five minutes and they are their mother's little boys.' Loki smiled.

Sigyn could not stop herself from smiling back. 'I had your full attention in about five seconds.'

'That is very true.' Loki conceded with a smile. 'How did you get out?'

'A lot of work on Thor's behalf, and apparently Auntie Ana.'

'She did not tell me about this, she just told me to bring the boys to come here, she said it was important.' He looked at his sons, who were seemingly able to realise who was there with them. 'So he helped you, after everything…?'

'Thor!' Sigyn remembered her brother and smiled. She turned and went to the door, walking out of the room with Narfi in her arms, Loki following after with Vali in his. They went back to the room where Ana and Loki had been waiting for her arrival. On their arrival, Thor standing there alone with no sign of Fandral. As soon as she entered the room, Thor turned to look at them, his eyes focused on the contents of arms, his eyes brightening and a large smile immediately coming to his face. 'Where…?'

'Ana didn't know if it was right to add anyone else to this, so…' Thor looked at the two little boys, unable to focus on anything but them. 'I cannot believe you made two little babies at once.' He smiled as he walked over.

'"Little", there was nothing "Little" about them. I was as big as a carriage.' Sigyn laughed. 'Thor, this is Narfi, and that one is Vali.' She showed her sons to her brother.

Thor leant down so he was face to face with Narfi, the small child staring at him with interest. Thor smiled and the small boy decided to investigate his beard. As soon as his hand touched the bristly facial hair, he made a small noise before giggling and doing it again. 'I have this uncle thing down.' Thor declared proudly, putting out his hands and elated when Narfi made to get over to him.

Loki looked analytically at the future monarch. By Aesir standards, Loki was lithe but tall, but he was startled to see just how tall Thor was in comparison to him. Thor, for his part, was sussing out Loki too. 'You know, I should hand your ass to you for what you did with my sister, but I think you two have endured enough.' He smiled. 'There is no expressing my gratitude for your standing by her side through this and for fighting on behalf of my nephews.'

'There is no expressing mine at how you have helped Sigyn and myself, as well as our sons.'

Thor grinned, eyeing the other man. 'What Norn did you piss off to say you got caught up with my sister?'

Loki, seeing that it as a jestful comment, chuckled. 'I am not sure what sin I committed in a past life, but I find myself grateful for whatever it was.'

Thor laughed in response. 'You,' He pointed to Loki. 'Are well suited to my sister.' The sound of little laughs caused him to look down at the boy in Loki's arms. 'We meet again, Little Man.' Vali gurgled and bounced his legs happily at him. Thor handed Narfi back to his sister and extended his arms, elated to see Vali reach out to him. 'You have grown considerably since the last time I held you.'

You held him?' Loki asked curiously.

'Yes, when I was birthing, it was Thor that came to my assistance, he took Vali from my room, he is the first person to hold him.

'So we know that Vali was the older one?'

'Yes, he was born first.' Thor confirmed. 'His skin and hair, I will never forget it.'

'And you held him?'

'Yes.' Thor looked fondly at his nephew. 'He was a quiet little thing when I had him settled. He fell right to sleep.' Loki nodded his head slightly as he absorbed the information given to him. Thor did not dwell on it and instead looked at Vali. 'Do you remember me? I bet you do, you are your mother's son, you know who I am.' Vali, like his brother, reached out for Thor's beard, fascinated by the odd feeling hair. 'He may have more Jotnar skin, but I think he looks more like our side, except the hair, of course.'

Sigyn looked at both of her children, kissing Narfi's head as she did. 'Maybe.'

'They are perfect.' Thor smiled.

'Because you know so much about babies.' Sigyn scoffed, though she agreed completely.

'I know more now than I ever learned before they were born.' Sigyn looked at her brother, startled. 'I read about them, I wanted to be ready to meet my nephews properly.' He explained with a shrug.

'How much interaction were you planning with them?' Sigyn asked.

The proud look on Thor's face fell. 'But….they are my family too.'

'But you never liked babies?'

'Yes I do, I think they are cute and fascinating, they see the realms so differently to us, they live in the now.'

'Wait, I am still at the part where you think them "cute" I am not near ready to go into your philosophical idea as to their thoughts.' Sigyn scoffed. She watched as Narfi began to cuddle in against her.

'He is getting hungry.' Loki informed her.

Sigyn looked sadly at her son, remembering the agony she suffered as she was forced to not allow her body to deal with the milk it had produced. For the first few days, it seemed to know there were two babies that should need feeding, but with the lack of feeding, they engorged before the milk was forced to no longer be made. She felt bitter over that, even now. She wanted to feed her babies, to feel the connection she had read extensively on that occurred as a result, but it never happened.

'Sig?' She looked sadly at Thor. 'Are you alright?'

'I need...I don't know.' She conceded.

Thor rubbed his sister's arm, seeing the utter conflict on her face. It was clear, the joy, relief and sense of being that she had from being with her children again was clashing with the anger and heartbreak she had from not being with her children from the start. 'Whatever you feel, Sig. We are here.'

She gave a small sad smile back. 'Yes, I just...my mind is every direction.' Narfi seemed to sense his mother's distress and cuddled into her causing her to look at him and frown. 'Is it so strong already?' Sigyn pondered. A moment later, her hand began to glow blue before his did a little in green.

'Oh, Norns.' Thor chuckled. 'Trouble ahead.'

Loki looked between the siblings worriedly, not understanding what Thor was implying. 'Is something wrong?'

'Narfi's seidr is reacting to Sig's, you are not going to have it easy with these two.' Thor explained as he watched his sister play with her son through her magic. 'Sig was a terror as a child, nothing was safe with her. It was endearing when she could not control it, but when we were a little older, she was a right pain. There was this one time, when we were young, she turned herself into a snake, and she knew I love snakes, so I picked up this wonderful-looking snake so I could inspect it and she just turned back into herself and yelled "Ahh, it's me", and proceeded to kick me between the legs, hard. We were young enough at the time, not yet teenagers.'

Loki frowned and looked at Sigyn, who was smiling fondly at the memory, uncertain of what to say in response to such a thing. He was about to say something when the door opened and a blonde haired man came in.

'If we want to get back before anyone gets suspicious, we need…' He ceased speaking and looked between the three adults before looking at the two infants. 'What's with the children?' He asked Thor before looking at them. 'And why have they purple eyes?'


	38. Chapter 38

'Jotnar red and Aesir blue make purple apparently.' Sigyn explained, looking at Fandral fearfully, worried as to how he would react.

Vali giggled at his mother causing Fandral to notice him more as Thor chuckled whilst holding him. 'He looks like someone...Why does he smile like Sigyn?' He pointed to the baby before his eyes widened in realisation and he looked at both children before the adults again, primarily Sigyn. 'This is the part I was missing?'

'Yes.' She nodded, biting her lips together as she did so.

'No one saw you all that time because you were…and there are there two, how are there two?'

'Because they are twins.'

'You had two, at once?' Sigyn nodded. 'But you are so young?'

'Youth was probably the half of it, in all fairness.' Sigyn shrugged.

'And you are the father?' Fandral pointed to Loki, who stood silently looking at him.

'Oh, I suppose this needs to be done,' Sigyn gave an odd look. 'Fandral, this is Loki, and yes, he is the father of my children, Loki, this is Fandral, my fiance and that is so weird, I think it hurts.'

'I think it is weird for all of us.' Thor chuckled.

Fandral and Loki seemed to assess one another for a moment before Fandral extended his hand, Loki took it immediately. 'I guess I should apologise?'

'No, I should be thanking you. I have been made aware of everything and know that this is very much not something you were fully aware of, and though you knew that there was an element of danger to it also, out of loyalty to a friend, you are a good man.'

Fandral nodded slightly, seeing how Sigyn could indeed find herself liking such a man before looking at the children. 'So, if they have Jotnar in them….' He pointed to both Sigyn and Loki.

'Loki is half Jotnar.' Sigyn explained. 'The boys have obviously inherited some of the traits.'

'I think they are colder than normal babies, do they seem….' The glare his sister gave him made Thor reassess his words. 'You know what I mean.'

'"Normal" really? Could you not have said just Aesir?'

'Sig…'

'This is the same woman that turned you into a frog and threatened to leave you in a pond where birds that eat such creatures for laughing at her seidr and you are insulting her children?' Fandral pointed out.

'A frog?' Loki looked to her.

'I wasn't actually going to put him outside.' She rolled her eyes before looking at Narfi who seemed to be getting a little bothered. 'He needs to be fed, right?'

'Yes. I have everything they need here.' He walked out before coming back a moment later with two bottles, both twins immediately looking at him, bouncing happily at the sight of their bottles. 'These need to be heated.'

'How warm?' Sigyn asked.

'Not as warm as your skin.'

Sigyn's seidr glowed slightly around the bottles. 'Say when.'

'Thank you.' She ceased warming them. 'I really could do with that at two in the morning.'

'If I had been allowed with you, bottles would never have even been required.' Sigyn's tone was bitter, causing Loki to look at her sadly before bringing his arm around her and kissing her forehead. 'This feels wrong.'

'Sig….' Thor looked at her sadly. 'Fandral is right…'

'No, I can't.' Sigyn leant in against Loki.

'We will return, but for now, Father needs…'

'To go to Hel.'

'Sig…'

'How can you expect me to leave them now, I can't.'

'They will be safe until we can have you return to them, but you need to help make that happen. Is this all you plan to have them know of you, one faint memory that they are so young for, they may only think it a dream if they remember you at all. Is that what you want?' Sigyn said nothing. 'We will see them again, I promise, but for now, you need to...say goodbye.'

'I…' Sigyn swallowed, holding her son against her. Both children seemed to sense something was wrong, Vali stretched a small hand out towards his mother. His seidr, she realised, was more of a bluish green.

'We will return to them tomorrow.' Thor promised. 'I swear Sig, they will not be walking before you will be with them.'

'That is too long.' She kissed her son's head again before looking to Vali who seemed to want to come over to her too. She gave Narfi to Loki and took her older son, cuddling him to her. 'How can I possibly…?' She looked sadly at him, trying to take in every last detail of his features.

'Sig…' She looked at her brother sadly. 'I know, I do, that this is more difficult for you than I or any other can understand, but we need to go.' Sigyn could not let go of Vali, who seemed adamant to stay holding onto his mother. Thor swallowed and slowly went over to her, showing her that he knew what he was doing was wrong. 'I swear on Mjolnir, on my life, I will not delay your being with your children a moment more than is needed, but right now, we need to go.'

With tears in her eyes, Sigyn kissed her son's head, Vali looking at her and smiled as she did. 'I love you so much, my precious boy.' Vali gripped his mother tight, as though sensing she was going to leave go of him. Loki placed Narfi in a baby rocker so he could take Vali from Sigyn. Vali, seeing his father, went to him, but watched as Sigyn went over to the rocker and said a farewell to Narfi, who seemed only to be wondering where his bottle was. 'I will be back to you soon, my handsome boy.' She turned and walked over to Loki again, leaning in against him, Loki pressing his forehead to hers. 'There is only you.' She whispered. 'There can only ever be you, you have to know that.'

'And you.' Loki looked at her sadly. 'I love you.' He looked towards Fandral for a moment. 'If the Allfather tries to tie the ribbon…'

'It cannot work, you know what.' She smiled before leaning up and kissing him. 'I'll be home soon.'

'We'll be waiting.' He promised, not wanting her to leave.


	39. Chapter 39

It felt like torture for Sigyn to walk out of her Aunt's home. Loki stood on the front steps watching her, his face telling just how little he wanted the current situation also. She mounted her horse and looked at him with her determination so clear on her face that he too believed it would not be long before she would be with them.

'Stay the course.' He turned to look at Anastasia. 'I know this is hard, Ducky, but they will be back tomorrow.'

'Thank you.'

'You needed it, both of you.'

'I did.' Loki confirmed. 'I didn't even realise how much so.'

'And the other man?'

'She has no interest in him, it is clear. I think I needed to see that too.'

'There is only you, Ducky. You and these beautiful boys.'

The other warriors watched as Thor, Fandral and Sigyn galloped back to them at the portal between the realms, startled to see them suddenly appear. 'How…?' Sif stared at the nook between rocks that they had not been in a moment before.

'A portal, to Alfheim.' Was the only explanation Thor gave on the matter.

'Alfheim?' Volstagg repeated. 'Why could all of us not go if it was there, there is no issue between our realms.'

'There is, however, an issue with us and the Jotnar.' Sigyn stated, not looking at any of them. 'They trade a lot with the Elves at this time of the year.'

No one said anything more on the matter. They rode back to the inn they were staying in without a word, as they came to a point, Sigyn used her seidr to release Huginn and Muninn, who were showing their master nothing more than a view of the warriors and royals riding around and had them show the true scene again, which was inconspicuous.

When they arrived, Thor insisted they would eat, though Fandral was in no mood to do so, since he was forced to endure Anastasia overfeeding him while he waited. They went to the rooms to ready for the meal, Sif looking once more at Sigyn, who was clearly conflicted by something in her mind. She was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. Both women watched as it slowly opened a little. 'May I come in?'

'Yes, of course. We are decent.' Sigyn replied as Fandral entered with consent. 'Can we help you?'

'The others have gone downstairs for dinner, Sigyn, I was wondering if I could speak with you, for a moment.'

Sif looked at the pair before leaving the room, deeply concerned as to what was going on. When the door was closed, Sigyn ensured none outside could hear the speaking that was taking place within. 'Yes?'

'I need to ask…' Sigyn swallowed, half worried at what he would say. 'How did you have them…with him?'

She could not help but laugh. 'I think it is fairly obvious how.'

'But...he is a commoner.'

'Their anatomy is exactly the same as someone born to a high-status family.' She grinned.

'No, I know that, it is just….it doesn't make sense.'

'Things don't always make sense. I met him, it happened, they happened.'

'And the Allfather didn't allow….'

Sigyn knew what it was he was asking. 'I was not even allowed to hold them, to know what they were or where they had gone. Odin told him that I did not want them, that I disowned them for my own betterment.' Fandral's eyes widened. 'I only got to be with them for the first time today.'

'You cannot mention them? Even now that I know?'

Sigyn raised her head to show the necklace again. 'I have no idea how he thinks to keep this on me, or for how long, but so long as it is, he has a direct link to when I try to mention them and has been able to say when I have tried to tell you in the past.'

Fandral swallowed, seeing the clear anger in Sigyn's features. 'I am sorry.'

'It was never your doing.'

'It seems so wrong, separating a mother and her children. I now understand what Thor meant when he saw fates worse than deaths in reference to you.'

'I never realised such pain existed.' She confessed. 'And it hasn't gotten any easier since.'

Fandral swallowed. 'So he is….they are part…?'

'Part Jotnar? Yes, they are.'

'But with the Jotnar and the Aesir are at war…?'

'My father brought him to Asgard after the last war, and apparently put a glamour on him. I didn't know in advance, neither did he for that matter. It was only when I accidentally gave Odin frostbite did he realise who the father was and I could not….' she pursed her lips.

'What?'

'He knows.'

'The Allfather?' She nodded slightly. 'Knows what, everything?'

'No, that I am trying to talk about this. I can feel it, in this.' She indicated to her neck. 'He is sending his warnings.'

'What do we do?' Fandral asked.

Sigyn gave him a small smile. 'You are being far too kind in all of this.'

'What do we need to do?'

Sigyn used her seidr to send Thor a mental message to come up looking for them and apologised to him for the manner in which they would be found. Thor inhaled deeply and stated to the others that he was just going to check what was delaying Fandral and Sigyn when Sif insisted she would do it, a slight comment regarding 'her room' and 'brother' were heard under her breath as she went. Sigyn told Thor to allow it and gave the ravens the ability to see what Sif was seeing. Thinking of Loki, as she always did when being forced to act as though she wished to kiss Fandral, the pair acted as though in lustful actions as Sif opened the door, revealing Sigyn and Fandral on her bed, acting as though they were mere moments away from going further. 'Eh...The food is ordered.' Sif all but shouted at them before leaving again, the door still left ajar, and as Sigyn expected, one of the ravens flew in and eyed them curiously.

Sigyn gave it a scathing look, knowing her father could see everything it could. Fandral got to his feet before helping Sigyn to hers. 'Get out, fleabag.' She hissed. The raven cawing indignantly before doing as ordered. 'I cannot wait for those two sacks of bones to be cast out from the palace. Hopefully whatever takes him, takes them with him.' She commented as she straightened her clothing.

'You don't plan on doing anything to the Allfather, do you?' Fandral asked, not sure of what would be her answer.

Sigyn's brow rose. 'I don't plan on committing treason, no. I am trying to get to my family, not ensure I never see them again and for them to be raised hearing that I fought...he is still my father. I hate him for what he has done to me, but…'

'You are Sigyn the Loyal.' Fandral acknowledged.

'Yeah, Norns, I hate my name and title. "The Loyal" like some dog, like some creature incapable of my own mind.'

'I think you are taking it too literally.' Sigyn raised a brow. 'Not everyone thinks Hogun to be grim, or Volstagg to be valiant.'

'But they all think you dashing?'

'Well, I mean, that goes without saying.' Fandral shrugged, causing Sigyn to laugh. 'At least I have you smiling.'

Sigyn smiled slightly more. 'I was so wrong about you Fandral. I always thought you to be just some idiot friend of Thor's, only interested in bedpartners, but you are genuinely a lovely man. I really cannot help but think that any woman would be lucky to have you.'

Fandral's brows furrowed. 'Startling praise from you.'

'Well, since I am not known to give it often, you can take it to be true if I say it. Come on, we need to cease this and join the others, before Odin storms Vanaheim and tries to force this farce of a wedding on us sooner.' She rolled her eyes.

'You seem so confident he cannot force this on us.'

'There is no way for that ribbon to wrap around our hands.' Sigyn stated with such conviction, that Fandral was sure that if nothing else, she believed it, but it did little to make him understand whether or not she could stop the inevitable if the Allfather demanded it. 'Now come on, the others are probably nearly finished eating.'

'I am not hungry.' Fandral confessed.

'Yeah, Aunt Ana likes feeding people.'

'Yes, to the state of overfeeding them, I fear my horse noticed the difference on the way back.'

'Just order and I will make it look like your eating.'

'You are far more powerful than you let on, aren't you?'

'You have no idea. This is nothing to me.' Sigyn smiled as she left the room, making sure they both were once more pristine, but in doing so, altered his clothing into something more casual and comfortable.

Fandral, for his part, looked down confused. 'This isn't mine.'

'I know,' Sigyn smiled knowingly. 'It is now. Blue really does suit you.'

'It must be the hair colour.' Fandral indicated to her own blonde hair and the fact that she too was wearing blue.

'Perhaps.' She smirked. As they descended the stairway she laughed at the unimpressed look Thor had schooled on his face, but she did not look the least bit ashamed as she sat down. 'So, is the duck good?'

'Just eat.' Thor ordered, half slapping the plate of food in front of her, but knowing well she was stopping their father from knowing the true nature of whatever herself and Fandral were discussing but he needed to act as though he was less than impressed with her actions, since that would be the normal reaction to such things.

Sigyn simply chuckled to herself and began to eat the food, not caring what it even was, she knew it would be something she would know at least since it came from her brother's somewhat gargantuan pile of plates. She gave a half smile at Volstagg, Hogun and Sif who were all completely intrigued and confused by everything that was going on.

Odin was livid at his daughter's actions, though relieved that it had been disrupted, he worried she would do as she had done already and get pregnant again. Part of him was grateful for it to be with the man she was due to marry and not some half-bred Frost Giant. He barely dismissed the thought of Jotnar out of his head when a guard came rushing up the hall, a look of concern on his face. 'What is it?'

'The Jotnar, Your Majesty. They are at the Bifrost.'

'Who leads them?'

'King Laufey himself, Sire.'


	40. Chapter 40

The whole inn was fast asleep when the ravens began to hammer frantically on the glass of both Thor's and Sigyn's rooms. Sigyn was awake when it started, thinking of her sons, their adorable faces, a mix of their races combined. She felt her love for them grow every moment she spent thinking about them. When the raven began to caw violently, she turned to look at the window only to see the raven flapping its wings.

'What is going on?' Sif asked worriedly.

'I don't know.' Sigyn rose and walked over, opening the window, the raven coming in immediately and flying around her.

'Sig?' Thor's voice came from outside the room. Sif rose from her bed and opened the door. Thor did not even wait to see what was going on, he rushed in. 'We are leaving, now.'

'What is it?' Thor did not answer at first. 'Thor?'

'I am not sure, but we need to go.'

Sigyn turned and looked at Sif, a moment later, she was dressed in her armour. She also used her seidr to do the same to the others, who she could hear rummaging around for their clothing and then she organised their possessions before turning towards Thor. 'That will save us time.'

'I am sorry, Sigyn.'

'If this is not a real emergency.' She stated before altering her clothing.

Sif and Thor stared as she walked out of the room. 'When did you get fitted for armour?' Thor asked.

'Never needed to, I can magic my own.' Sigyn stated as she walked passed the others and to the stairwell.

'So why did you have mine made professionally?'

'I wanted it to be carved perfectly and with a talent, I do not possess. Why does anyone go to professionals?'

'If you had just done this….'

'If I could turn back time, I still would have done as I did.' She stated as she walked to the stables and used her seidr to tack their horses before pulling out Tempest and rubbing his neck. 'Back to Asgard now, Big Man.' The horse snorted in response. Mounting their horses, the group went to a safe area to call Heimdall and waited for the guardian to open the Bifrost and bring them back.

As soon as they landed in the Bifrost, they realised something was amiss.

'Heimdall?' Thor asked, watching the Einherjar that were standing at the doorway that led along the bridge. 'Heimdall, what is happening?' The Guardian said nothing but gave a glare towards the guards.

'His Highness and the Warriors are requested back at the palace immediately.' The Einherjar stated. The men had their horses move forward while Sif and Sigyn had theirs remain still.

Thor giving his sister a concerned look as he did. 'Is their reason for my sister and the Lady Sif to remain here?'

'The Lady Sif was included in your grouping of warriors. Her Highness, however, is to be brought back to the city via a ship.' The guard explained.

'Why?' Fandral was the one to ask, though they were all thinking about it, he received no answer.

'Fandral, go with Sigyn.' Thor ordered. 'Hogun, take his horse, I will take Sig's.'

Sigyn dismounted and pulled the reins over her horse's head. 'Do as he says, okay?' She kissed the horse's nose before giving her brother the reins.

'Are you armed?' He asked worriedly, looking at the severe lack of weaponry his sister seemed to be donning in comparison to them all.

Sigyn merely smirked and shot out both her arms by her sides, two large and jagged blades seemed to appear as though extending from her arms. 'You don't need to worry about me.' Thor nodded, though startled by her actions and called the other warriors to follow him, they cantered off immediately.

'Did you know she could do that?' Sif asked as they did so.

'The Lord Fandral was not to come with you.' The Einherjar stated, looking at Sigyn's weapons somewhat fearfully.

'I don't care, he is my fiance, he is coming with me, for my safety.' she strutted towards the doorway of the Bifrost. 'Heimdall, what is waiting for us?'

'The Allfather has forbidden my saying Princess, it is somewhat a cold reception that awaits you.'

Sigyn paused at his choice of words. 'How cold?'

'Icy.'

Sigyn's eyebrows rose. 'Well, this is going to be interesting.'

She boarded the boat and stood as it made its way into Asgard's city and to the palace, she watched Thor and the others ride along the long bridge, looking at them as they passed before the boat continued, coming to a stop at the balcony to the monarchs bedrooms. Sigyn looked at the guards, who said nothing as she stepped off, inhaled deeply and walked towards her parent's common area.

On arriving in them, she was unsurprised to see her mother waiting for her, though it was clear that Frigga had not expected Fandral to be with her. 'Oh…'

'No one would tell myself or Thor what was going on. You hardly think he would leave me unattended?' She questioned boredly. 'So, I assume there is something interesting happening?'

'We have company.' Frigga looked her daughter up and down. 'Why are you dressed like that?'

'The way you say that makes me glad I am dressed like this. Father had us woken in the middle of the night, of course, I am dressed in case I have to defend myself. What is going on?'

'There are Jotnar in the palace.'

'Father and the guards will make short work of them.' Sigyn dismissed.

'They are here to talk.'

Sigyn's brow raised. 'Okay?'

'Do you know anything about this?'

Sigyn clenched her jaw. 'I was on Vanaheim, with Thor, Fandral and the rest of the group. I had nothing to do with this. What could ever make you think I did?'

'It is odd timing.'

Sigyn felt her rage rise. 'I did not even know that Thor planned this getaway. I get out of this golden prison for one night and I am being blamed for something. How is the Jotnar coming here my fault?'

Frigga paused for a moment before saying anything more. 'Fandral, could you please step outside for a moment?' He looked at Sigyn worriedly but she nodded and he did as requested. 'Your names was one of the first things mentioned.'

'That is hardly surprising, I am the first Aesir to be seen on their realm that we know of in a millennium and I am the daughter of their rival, it makes sense that they would make reference me. I told you myself that we were confronted by them. It is not news to either of you. What do they want?'

'Apparently, they will not say until you are there.'

'Well, I am somewhat more diplomatically minded than Thor.' she shrugged. 'I also am probably the first Aesir in a thousand plus years to speak with them, not at them. They are not bloodthirsty barbaric beasts, they are beings, with emotions, families…'

'Like him?'

'Like his mother.' Frigga's face dropped. 'Sansa, right? She was your friend. She was married to Laufey, she loved him. He was wanted and created in a loving marriage and yes, Father saved his life, but that is not all of that story. He would have died if he had not found him, but he was part of a family. His father wanted him.' Frigga said nothing. 'You are so angry at me that you are willing to ignore a chance of peace?'

'Do you honestly think that is what they want?' It was clear from the manner Frigga spoke, she did not think it.

'What do you assume it to be?'

Frigga walked forward. 'Your condition was noted when there. They know everything.'

'You think them about to out our dirty secret?' She turned and looked around the room. 'And if they do?'

'Do you think Fandral would look at you after such a revelation?'

'Do you think him so fickle? Do you think he does not care at all for me?'

'Who could want…?'

Sigyn shook her head. 'I always thought we were close before this. I thought we spoke often and intelligently, I thought we were women of a standard that we could rival any man. You think so little of me, that I cannot make a man enjoy my company with anything other than my body. Are you so vain?'

'What?'

'I have not gone a month of my life in the last few decades without being told of how similar I look to you. You clearly think it is my appearance that has him interested.' Frigga pursed her lips. 'I may be deemed beautiful to some, but I am so much more than my face, I know that. You seem to have forgotten.' She turned to leave.

'Where are you going?'

'I am going to see what the Jotnar want. I want to see if we can have peace, as any royal should.' Sigyn walked off and out the door. 'Let's go.' She ordered. Fandral, who was waiting somewhat awkwardly in the hallway, jumped slightly before doing as she asked.

A moment later, the door opened again. 'Sigyn, do not go there.' Frigga ordered.

'I am going, Mother.' She felt Frigga attempt to stop her with her seidr, so she stopped of her own accord and chuckled at her mother. 'Do you think that will work, on me?' She almost sneered at her, causing Frigga to stare at her in shock. 'Surprised?'

'You...how…?'

'You taught me well.' Sigyn turned again and continued walking.

'You have done enough damage.'

That caused Sigyn to scoff again. 'It appears I may have repaired some of his damage.'

'"His"?'

'Odins. I have opened the lines of communication. You have been married to him for what, eighteen hundred years now? How many times has he done such a thing? Be honest. Because I have read extensively on diplomatic relations, and by my calculations, there were six realms on good terms with Asgard before he took the throne, at the time with his as Allfather, we have not bridged the gaps between ourselves and those we have not been close with, and have actually had war with not one, but two realms. One of which was an ally before he took the throne.'

'Sigyn.' Frigga warned.

'No, do not just say my name and expect silence in return, give me something that contradicts my statement with fact?' Frigga said nothing. 'Exactly. We have no communications with Muspelheim or Midgard, Svartalfheim is nothing to anyone, we have been at war with Jotunheim and Nilheim and there have been no new alliances, am I wrong?' Frigga again stayed quiet, though she noticed both the guards in the hallway and Fandral's reactions to Sigyn's words. 'No, I am not. This is a chance at peace, to ally with one of our truest allies once more. Asgard and Jotunheim were allies against the Dark Elves, they stood beside us. King Fionn was by Grandfather's side in the battle. He died for what was right, we honoured him, until Father and King Laufey fought. Then we tore down the statue to him, erased what was for fear of altering the new agenda.'

'Laufey attacked Midgard, or did you forget that?'

Because he was under the impression his beloved wife, your friend, and his son were being held there. Do you think Father would have let some realm have you held when you carried Thor? I don't. I think he would have slaughtered man, woman and child alike to get you home.' Fandral's eyes widened as he looked between mother and daughter, having never heard such events, when the queen's face confirmed her daughter's words, he was startled beyond words. 'I am not letting Father ignore this olive branch.' she focused on her mother and used her seidr to force her back into her chambers, locking the door behind her. 'We cannot have my father start a new war to stroke his ego.' She stated as she walked on towards the throne room.


	41. Chapter 41

Thor stood to the front, the warriors behind him. He was cautious, watching the Jotnar standing in front of his father, who seemed more than a little unhappy with the events.

'Why are you here, Laufey?' Odin demanded, Gungnir firmly in his grasp.

'To speak.'

'Then do so.'

'Where is the Princess?'

'Why does she matter?'

Laufey grinned slyly. 'You know why.' Odin glared at him, his lip twitching in contempt. 'You have done so many wrongs over the years Allfather, be they intentional or otherwise, but I think you have outdone yourself this time.'

'Thread carefully, lest I remove your head from its body.' Odin threatened.

'Well, that will do well for inter-realm relations.' The room turned to see Sigyn walking up to them, confident and still in her version of battle attire, something that startled her father. 'Your Majesty.' She curtsied at the foreign king. 'If I am honest, I never thought I would see this. I hope that this is a step forward in the relations between our realms.'

Laufey scoffed slightly. 'Your daughter, Allfather, is blessed to have an intelligence and courtesy that clearly are not learned from you.'

Odin glared at the foreign king. 'You say you want to talk, yet court anger.'

'Was that before or after you threatened to behead him?' Sigyn questioned, silencing her father. 'If peace can be achieved, none should stop it. And definitely not on the basis of egos. It would be a shame to do so.'

'Egos? You think this is about egos?'

'Well, you are acting aggressive and holding onto Gungnir with a grip that reminds me of a book I read where the alpha male of a pack of some primate shows his dominance to a rival male by grabbing his...shall we call it his stick?'

Both the Jotnar and Aesir, guards and all stared in disbelief at Sigyn for her words against her father. 'I think we need to speak about this before something is said that cannot be rescinded.' Thor interjected. 'The Jotnar are welcome to Asgard, it has been a long millennium, and in that time, things have changed and we cannot live in the past, especially with certain aspects of it only recently coming to light. I, for one, am glad that the Jotnar have extended their hand, and I know that should the day come I take the throne, I wish to have the ice realm by our side, Fionn and Bor were the greatest of allies, I hope we can return to such.'

Odin looked at his son, appalled at his words, Sigyn on the other hand, smiled at her brother nodding slightly in agreement and pride. The Jotnar were somewhat shocked by his response, having expected Thor to fall more on the side of his father in the Allfather's presence and having heard that he was a headstrong and often foolish youth.

'It seems the future of Asgard is in favour of peace.' Laufey stated before looking to Odin, 'But what of the present?'

'My son will not be taking the throne this side of the next millennium.'

'So you want us to war for another thousand years?' Thor asked incredulously. 'You rather we do not mend bridges?'

'Somehow, I doubt the Midgardians would be too forgiving of an act of genocide, do you?' Odin challenged.

'You really should read more about Midgard,' Sigyn scoffed. 'They slaughter one another in acts of genocide all the time, for land, resources and profit, if anything, it would simply have hastened what they themselves are doing.'

'So that is how you see it?' Laufey's voice was not raised or even angry, merely calm as he looked at the Allfather. 'Is there a timeframe for when such acts are forgiven, I wonder?' Odin shifted on his throne at Laufey's words while Sigyn and Thor frowned at what they could mean. He looked at the ceiling. 'The ceiling used to be taller here, and that is an interesting piece of art, it must be new.'

That made Sigyn more confused. She looked up at the highly decorated ceiling. It had been something she had spent countless hours looking at, most in awe, some in utter contempt. She could only recall it looking as it did at that moment. The pictures were always the same, bar the one after Thor's coming-of-age Name's Day. She was there when the artists erased the picture of two younger looking monarchs and two young children and replaced them with Thor, beside his father as an equal, and her next to her mother, the look of devotion on her face, something she frowned at at the time, caused her nothing but anger in recent times. Other than that, it remained the same from what she could recall, everything was so bright and joyous. Laufey's words resonated with her.

'If it is peace you want, why drag my daughter into this?'

'You know well why.' The entire room stared at Sigyn, who looked ahead, unperturbed by the looks of fear and concern on the warriors' faces.

'She is not going to be used as a peace marriage, she is to wed another.'

'I am aware of your haste to wed her off to someone you deem acceptable, even if it breaks protocol and tradition, and why so.'

'Enough! Get off of my realm, now.' Odin rose to his feet.

'Father, we cannot let an opportunity for peace…'

'SILENCE!' Odin bellowed at his son, but unlike other times, though startled at his father's violent reaction, Thor did not silently stand back in retreat, he remained where he was. 'Or else.'

'Or else what?' Laufey scoffed. 'You collar the other of your children, like hounds, beasts to do only as they are told, and to be reprimanded otherwise.' Again, peoples gazes focused on Sigyn, and in particular, the plan choker around her neck that none recalled her ever having before her temporary retreat from public life.

'Better to reprimand them now before they do harm. Dare I ask, where is Býleistr?' Odin enquired, knowing full well the response he would get.

'You wish to have me believe that you do not know my eldest son took his own life rather than risk capture for a coup he planned?' Laufey challenged. 'You know well what he did. He was too much his uncle's nephew.' Beside him, Helbindi nodded.

'So your second son will take your throne?'

'My second? No, he will not, he was not raised as one of us, he would not know how to rule a race such as ours, Helbindi will now take my place when the time comes.' Odin's face fell. 'You think I did not know? I refuse to believe that. Or is it that you thought I would not recognise him of my line? I do, him and his.' Laufey's eyes flicker to Sigyn for a mere moment. 'I know more than you know of the matter, Allfather, I have my own eyes on things, and I do not depend on two birds to do it.' Odin glared at his daughter. 'You think your own daughter a spy to me? Sigyn the Loyal, betray the Allfather, her own father?' Again, everyone looked at Sigyn, but she focused on her father. It was clear from her face, she was enraged by such accusations, to the point of personal hurt. 'To her own misery, that girl stands there, collared like a loyal pet, when her place is elsewhere.'

'Her place is here!' Odin bellowed. 'Enough of this. Get off of my realm.' He turned to Sigyn. 'And you, get to your quarters, this instant.'

Sigyn looked at him and shook her head, but she did as ordered and turned to leave the room. 'Peace, we could have peace, and you choose to remain at war.' She commented as she did so. 'I suppose it is easy to do so when you are not the one fighting.'

'Silence.' Odin snarled, but Sigyn did not rescind her words against him, instead she came to a halt and turned to face him again, her words thick in the air as all those gathered thought of what would be were war to rage once more, and the undeniable truth that indeed, Odin would remain on his throne, unaffected by battle. Odin sensed the uncertain unease growing in the room, knowing that it could go against him were he to stay in the position he had taken. He looked to Laufey, who seemed to be able to understand the severity of the situation he was in and seemed to be hardly able to mask his enjoyment at the Allfather's predicament 'You recall your last time here, you know where to go.'

Laufey too, shook his head before turning and giving the order for his party to leave.

When he left, Odin began to walk down the steps from the throne. 'Get out, all of you.' Guards, Sigyn and warriors alike did as commanded. 'Not you.' Odin pointed to his son.

Thor watched as everyone else left, Sigyn looking at him as soon as the door closed, he looked to Odin. 'Father…'

'Enough.' Odin ordered. 'When you were to speak, you spoke wrong, so you do not get to speak now. I knew no good could come of your new closeness to Sigyn, you are being tainted by her, you are not the warrior you need to be, the man you need to be to be king.'

'I do not seek war, so I must not be fit to be king, that is how you judge my readiness?' Thor challenged. 'I am trying to do what is best for Asgard when we do not need to war, we should always take the option that is not that one.'

'Giving in to their demands is a sign of weakness.' Odin insisted.

'We are the more powerful side, that is not weakness, that is decency and mercy. There is no need for war.'

'It is a trick.'

'Father, see sense, please, I beseech you. Laufey did not harm Sigyn, he let her pass safely, we owe him the same respect.'

'Laufey has just stated that he has eyes on things here, she is his eyes. She is a spy for him.'

Thor shook his head. 'No, Sigyn would never betray our family. She says that he accepted her passing through, that she knew that he could sense her situation, but you have to remember, you told her the truth of their parentage, on her arrival back here, she had no idea….'

'She did. She is playing on your good heart, and that is why you are not able to make the decisions of a king, you are too busy seeing that harmless little brat that turned mead into water and not the snake that is trying to pull down our house from within.'

'Sigyn is not a snake, Father. Can you not see, she obeys your orders without question, to her own unhappiness, you know she does not wish to stand in court every day, but she does, obediently. She does not agree with much of your commands, yet she says nothing to embarrass you. Can you not see, she is loyal to you.'

'You are not loyal to those you hate.' Odin stated.

'I can see that well right in front of me.' Thor countered, turning to leave.

As Loki sat reading Anastasia's message as to Sigyn being called back to Asgard, he bit his lips together, thinking of her actions with him the day before, and how she interacted with their sons. He knew she wanted nothing more than to be with them, and as much as he wished he would see her again that day as planned, he knew it was not possible, and that she would be back to them as soon as she could.

In the doorway, Dafydd stood watching Loki, thinking of what needed to be reported in his own correspondence.


	42. Chapter 42

Sigyn sat in her rooms, her mind racing as she thought over everything. She knew her father would be watching her every move. It hurt her so much to see his notion that she would betray her own family was something so real to him. He truly believed she would do such a thing. She looked at her maids, who were looking at her strangely. 'Have you been told to keep an eye on me?' For a moment, none of them answered. 'Well?'

'Both eyes, actually.' One of the older ones responded.

'Is it really something anyone would think that I would betray my father?'

'After what happened….' the younger maid looked at the cloth in her hand as she spoke. 'It would be understandable…'

Sigyn clenched her jaw. 'Get my Brother.' She ordered and went back into her other room. She was barely in there a moment when she realised she was not alone. 'If you do not get that fleabag out of here, I will obliterate it.' She snarled, looked at the raven, knowing well her father was eyeing her carefully through it. When it did not move, she did as she had done earlier and caused weapons to come to her hands. She hurled them to close enough to the bird to scare it, getting it to leave her rooms through the window, but it perched outside, looking at her.

She was about to do the same again when there was a knock on her door. She turned to see her maid standing there. 'Prince Thor is not presently allowed be in contact with you, Your Highness.'

Sigyn pursed her lips at her father's raven. 'You are no king, you are a warmonger.' She closed over the doors to her balcony and closed all other ones and windows and curtains. She then went to her front rooms, her maids were watching her carefully. 'Could one of you run a bath for me, please. And if my father decides to come in, could one of you call me, I am still not over the last time he burst in.' The maids rushed around, doing as she requested. As soon as they finished, she had them leave the room and give her some privacy. Putting some spells on the door to ensure she would know if someone unwanted was coming, she stood fully clothed and used her seidr.

She watched as the Jotunn guards stood within Laufey's rooms, unhappy with their current location and the severe risk of being overpowered should Odin decide to do something. Knowing that Laufey would speak with her, she made her copy visible in the middle of the room. The guards were startled by her sudden appearance.

'Father.' She turned slightly, knowing that Helbindi was there. His call out was more of an expectant one than one of startlement, telling Sigyn the Jotnar was indeed expecting her appearance at some stage.

Laufey came from one of the other rooms into the main area of the suite. 'Princess.'

'Your Majesty.' She curtsied before she looked around and flicked her wrist, causing all doors and windows to shut and lock. 'The walls have ears around here.'

'I am all too aware.' He grinned.

'May I be so bold as to ask, why are you really here?'

'That favour needs returning now, Princess.'

'My father will not listen to me, or Thor regarding you, as you can clearly see. I am not sure if we can help.'

'The Allfather is too set in his ways.' Laufey agreed. 'The Prince stands by you?'

'Yes.'

'So he knows everything?'

'His return from Vanaheim was the same night I…' she swallowed, feeling the collar around her neck. The ice king gave a knowing look. 'He assisted me. He sees the wrongs of the situation.'

'And of their parentage?'

'It was sort of hard to miss.' Sigyn huffed.

'And of Loki's...what sort of name is that?'

'What was he supposed to be called?'

'Loptr.'

'It would have suited him.' She smiled, thinking of the name. 'Yes, my brother knows who he is.'

'You did not, on our first meeting?'

'Neither of us knew. I did not ask him whether or not he knew it yesterday. I have no idea if he knows now.' Laufey nodded. 'I am sorry, about Býleistr.'

'He chose his fate.'

'It still does not take from him being your son.'

Laufey looked at her and nodded slightly. 'Compassion is not something the Allfather shows often, either.'

'Well, you are aware of my feelings on him.'

'Yet you remain loyal?'

'It is complicated, perhaps it is my greatest fault.'

'You think yourself faulted?'

'I think none are without fault.' She shrugged. 'What is it I can do for you?'

'We need peace.'

'My father will not allow it. Thor would grant it, but he holds no power now and with his words today, my father will not allow him near the throne for a considerable time.' She stated sadly, her head shaking slightly. 'What dangers do you face that requires assistance?'

Laufey chuckled slightly. 'So astute. My idiot son's actions have caused many in our realm to think that the only way for our realm to prosper once more is to war for the Casket.'

'Seeds of doubt can grow from such acts.'

'Very much so.' Laufey agreed.

'And if you get peace, it will placate most, have them know that the way forward will include the Casket returning and in return, cease any further ideas like this.'

Laufey again looked at her studiously. Pointing to her, he looked to his son, his tone one of instruction. 'See this, this is how you need to think now.' Helbindi nodded.

'Do you play chess?' This time, Sigyn looked to the prince, who shook his head slightly. 'If we sort this mess with my father, Thor and I will teach you. It teaches you to think ahead, to consider your moves in advance, and to think about your opponent's moves, think about the damage they can do.' She smiled.

Helbindi seemed somewhat sceptical. 'Why would you do that?'

'To help you, it would serve you well.'

The kindness in her features were baffling to the prince. 'But you should want….'

'I want our realms to be at peace.'

'But Loptr...Loki should be next in line, do you not want to have him on the throne?'

'I don't think he would want him on the throne, if I am honest. Only he can answer that. I merely want to help Jotunheim.'

'You took a bigger step towards that than planned.'

'I think I brought us closer to war sadly…' Sigyn frowned and shook her head. 'Forgive my sudden departure, my mother is on her way here now.'

'How good are you at that?' Helbindi questioned.

'Better than my mother.' She bowed slightly and fizzled away.

'The Alfather has no idea what he is dealing with.' Laufey chuckled. A moment later, there was a knock on the door and a guard entered. 'Send her in.' Laufey ordered before he could say anything. Shocked, the guard moved and in walked Frigga along with ten guards. 'A tad excessive, surely Allmother.' Laufey commented.

'When there are supposedly eyes and ears for you in my home, nothing is too excessive.' Frigga stated. 'Why are you here, Laufey?'

'I am not the prince that Sansa introduced to you any longer, Allmother. I do not call you "M'Lady" you will at least act as though I have some standing.'

Frigga pursed her lips. 'I thought you forgot about her, considering how swiftly you took another wife.'

Laufey's face contorted angrily. 'I only ever took another because I was led to believe my son was dead. The same son that you and your husband have cast from the realm for fear any realise what he did with your daughter. You know the requirements of our positions, from what I hear, you were not overly pleased with the size of the prince to have another. Sansa stated you were terrified when you realised you were bearing the Princess.'

Frigga swallowed. 'There is no good to come with all of this. Leave that sleeping dog lie.'

'Which one, my beloved Sansa, your friend, or the fact that through our second children, our houses are forever tied.'

'Those children were too young to have children, those ties are as flimsy as can be.'

'Those ties are so much more sturdy than you could ever imagine, as can be seen by your forcing your daughter to wed another.'

'So that is the purpose of this, to sabotage my daughter's chance at a good marriage? Because of a childish mistake with your son.' Frigga accused.

'Are you suggesting a marriage to my son would not have been good enough for her, the marriage to a Jotunn prince comes under that of an Aesir lord? I cannot help but find that insulting. You were not overly against it when you knew of Sansa's feelings on Jotnar, you encouraged her to follow her own path.' Frigga swallowed. 'And now your daughter has carried my line.'

'As you said, he has not been raised as one of you.'

'He is still my son, I recognise him as such. Though I also respect that he is content with the raising he has been given. Though, a blacksmith Jotunn, that is somewhat amusing.' Laufey chuckled.

'You know….'Frigga looked at him worriedly.

'I have had an eye on him since the moment I smelt him. And for the Allfather to only alter his skin and nothing else of him...clearly you have not seen him, there is no denying his mother in his features.' Frigga's eyes could not meet his. 'Though with the haste you had those children removed from the room, I doubt you even saw the resemblance. I am curious, Allmother, what do you think Sansa would say today, were she to be here? Would you defend your decision to inflict such cruelty on your daughter, to tear her children from her and look her in the eye as you say her son was not good enough?'

'You speak this way of her, in front of a son not of her?'

'I am aware of my father's love for her, we all are. We have a statue in her honour in our palace.' That startled Frigga. 'He does not love my mother, but he treats her well and cares for me as a father should a son, so it is not as though he simply remains in the past, he simply has continued.' Helbindi looked down at the Aesir queen, noting the similarity between her and her daughter, who he had been studying mere moments before.

Frigga took a moment to consider what was being said to her. 'You are aware of my actions at that time?' She realised.

Knowing what she was referring to, Laufey chuckled. 'I am aware of what happened outside the rooms, not within, if that is what you are asking. I am forced to concede, Allmother, I thought you a strong woman, yet you stand by and let your young daughter be tortured so, in fact, you add to her torture.'

'None have tortured her.' Frigga stated indignantly.

Laufey merely scoffed in retort. 'Take it from a parent that thought their child lost. Having them taken from you, the children you love, it is a torture like none other. But you see, I thought Loptr was dead, I mourned him, she is forced to be separated from them, knowing they live, never knowing if they are healthy and continue to live, or if they are harmed or ill and she will never know if they leave the realms before her. I cannot imagine a crueller fate. I can say quite ardently, Sansa would be sickened to her core.'

Saying nothing more, Frigga left, knowing that there was some truth could be taken from Laufey's words.

'Have word sent.' Laufey ordered. 'I do not think they are safe. Have more sent to guard them.'

Odin paced angrily. He knew Sigyn was up to something, but she had made it clear, she saw no issue harming Huginn or Muninn if they were too close. He had heard Laufey himself say there was a traitor in his mists, he needed proof it was Sigyn. The wedding was still too long away, were it closer, she could be sent off to live with Fandral and his family, meaning that with the current events...he paused. To him, there was only one option. 'Frederick?' His hand servant came into the room. 'Have my daughter and Fandral the Dashing brought to the throne room immediately.' The servant was unsure of what his employer was planning, but he knew whatever it was, the chances were, it would not be overly pleasant.


	43. Chapter 43

Fandral stood staring, ashen-faced as the Allfather spoke. In the past forty-eight hours he had to process more than he could ever imagine, yet here was the Allfather, sitting on the throne telling him that the wedding that was supposed to take place too soon in two months, would be performed in private, that very evening. He felt trapped and terrified, and if he was honest with himself, angry. He wished Thor or Sigyn were present, but he realised quickly that whatever trouble the Allfather would have getting him to agree to anything, it would be multiplied exponentially when concerning his daughter, or indeed his son.

Thor was livid. His own hand servant reported to him what his father was about to do. But knowing more than his father, he schooled a face of calm and walked towards the throne room, not the least bit sorry for whichever parent was about to inform Sigyn of her fate.

Sigyn was the last person called to the room. She thought it was because her father was about to interrogate her once more regarding her ties with Laufey, but when she saw Fandral and Thor there, she knew her assumption was incorrect. When she saw the look on Fandral's face, she suspected the true reason for their being called there. 'Oh, I know this is going to be farcical.' She stated loudly as she walked up the room towards the throne, where they all stood waiting. 'I am curious, are we going to go with a "The Jotnar arrival made us do it" or am I going to have a tragic fake miscarriage in a few weeks?'

'Now is the right time.' Frigga stated.

'Oh, you have no idea.' Sigyn chuckled almost sinisterly. 'Well, try it.'

Loki tried and failed to concentrate on the job in front of him. All he could think about was Sigyn, her lips against his. It made him recall the many nights they lay next to one another in bed, gentle kisses and passionate ones, as well as their nights spent enjoying one another, binding them even more through their growing love.

Frustrated, he decided to go for a walk and see if he could ease his mind. When he went to inform his parents of what he was doing, they nodded but said nothing more to him. They were not dumb, they knew something was bothering him and since he left with the children the day before without so much as a mention as to where he was going, but it was clear whatever it was, it had a significant effect on him. He insisted once more on bringing his children with him. He walked for a short period of time, not wanting to head into the village, he chose to go a forest path. It was only when he was about half a mile from his home, he paused and sensed that he was not alone.

There was little noise in the trees around him, which, he knew was not right for the Elven forests which were usually littered with noises from different creatures, yet they seemed eerily silent. He paused for a moment when a when he noticed something on a branch that made his stomach clench painfully and his senses come to the fore. Water was dripping from a chunk of ice attached to a branch as it melted in the warm sun. There was only one way for ice to get on a shrub in such a climate. Knowing that the Jotnar and the elves were allies meant that it was not uncommon for them to be there, he had seen them a few times around the realm, and after paying heed to Dafydd's comments regarding half Jotnar elves, with added attention to his surrounds, he saw that there was truth in the elf's words. What scared Loki was that there was nothing on the path he was on to have Jotnar go that direction, all the local amenities were back in the town, yet he did not meet anyone on the path that was Jotnar, and the amount of ice that was present, as well as the water that had formed underneath, indicated it was not there more than a few minutes, meaning that the Jotnar were still in the immediate area.

He tried to keep calm as he turned to make his way back to the village, but when a branch snapped nearby, he turned and faced it. 'What do you want?' He demanded. There was no response.

'Loki?' he swung around to see Dafydd behind him, looking at him peculiarly. 'Are you alright?'

'I…' Loki looked around them again before leaning in towards Dafydd. 'There is someone in the bushes. Jotnar.'

'I know.'

'I...What?'

'I know there are.' Dafydd repeated.

'How?'

'Because I told them where to find you.'

Loki looked at Dafydd, his face filled with confusion and betrayal. 'I am...I don't know what you are saying.'

Dafydd sighed. 'Ardan, please.' A moment later, a large and powerful looking Jotunn walked out of the bushes. It was clear he was a strong being and the armour he wore suggested to Loki that he was a fighter of high standing. 'Loki, this is Ardan, he is King Laufey's strongest bodyguard.' Loki looked between Dafydd and the terrifying Jotunn, who bowed slightly at him. 'King Laufey sent him and a few others to protect you and the boys.'

'Why?'

Dafydd shook his head. 'King Laufey has had you and your sons under his guard since the moment you arrived here. As to the specifics, I don't know or care, I am told to make sure you are safe, so I make sure you are safe. I assume it is something to do with the whole Princess Sigyn thing.'

'Not particularly.' Loki and Dafydd looked to the Jotunn. 'King Laufey had three wives, the first left the realm because she knew the King never wanted her and was in love with another, the second was the one he wanted but she was killed by the first's brother and the current wife does not stand beside him, as she was simply to guarantee a second heir after his wife and son were killed, only the son was not killed.' He looked Loki up and down as he finished speaking. 'I assume without your Aesir glamour, you would look more like the King, but as it stands, you look more like Queen Sansa.'

'I...I...He...Oh, Norns.' Loki looked at his sons, recalling the ridges that made the King of the Jotnar's face, only to realise that Vali had one identical to him as the child chewed his fist. 'And he….'

'King Laufey was led to believe Queen Sansa was killed while still pregnant. It was not realised what truly happened until after you and Princess Sigyn landed on Jotunheim, it is clear to see the resemblance, and though you may have the smell of an Aesir as the main one on you, due to your time around them, but there is no denying your scent, you are very much of the King's line.'

Loki paused for a moment, eyes darting side to side. 'Does...the Allfather know?'

'Yes, he knew all along.' Loki sighed. 'That was the primary reason as to why the Aesir princess's condition was not allowed be known. To have joined the two realms in such a powerful way is not permitted by the Allfather.'

'So if Laufey was married to this Sansa, does that make Loki legitimate?' Dafydd asked, trying to fully comprehend what he was hearing.

'Yes.' Ardan confirmed with a nod.

'So that means the twins…' Dafydd looked at the two babies who were awake and looking around them curiously.

Ardan looked at the babies and chuckled slightly. 'There is no denying them, even if they are somewhat diluted.' When Narfi reached up to him, the powerful Jotunn extended his hand. Worried, Loki was about to object, but when Narfi's hand touched his, the infant giggled and kicked happily, causing the warrior to chuckle again. 'Warmer than us, but only a seidr wielder could have carried them all the same, they are the only ones who can adapt their body to do so of all the warm blood beings. To say there are two, that is unheard of.'

'I thought twins occurred on a few realms, even on Jotunheim.' Loki commented.

'Twins, yes, twin Jotnar to a warmblood, never before. It is a testament to her power. I did not think the daughter of Odin, regardless of her powerful parentage, could possess such power.'

'You were sent to protect us?' Loki reaffirmed.

Ardan nodded again. 'The King was worried the Aesir would do something to eradicate you and the princelings, I was sent to protect you, me and my grouping. They ensure us a safe route back to Jotunheim, should you require it. You and the princelings would be safe there.'

'"Princelings"?'

'Young princes. They have not been formally recognised yet, but they are still born to the role on both sides, ergo, princelings.' Ardan explained.

'Both sides?'

'As soon as Laufey realised it was you, his lost son, he made it known, you are recognised of his line, even though you are raised away, unknowing of your heritage. Sansa was everything to him, he would never desecrate her memory by denying his son with her.' Ardan grinned. 'Besides, it has been too long since Jotunheim has had such news. With the Casket gone, there is little light on our realm.' He looked at the children again. 'The lost prince and his guaranteeing the line, that to us, is something worth celebrating.'

Loki was uncertain as to what he was being told, but the idea that his sons were safe filled him with some relief. He looked to Dafydd. 'So, you were planted?'

'No, I genuinely looked for the job with your father, and I really do enjoy working with you, I do. But I had Prince Helbindi tell me that you and the children were in danger and to keep an eye on you for your safety. Your family has been so good to me, I could never have declined. I am sorry I did not tell you, I nearly did, but then you mentioned Princess Sigyn and I knew there was far more to this than I could understand. For you to be the Lost Prince.'

'So this is a real thing, this lost prince?'

'Asgard never spoke of this?' Dafydd asked, shocked. Loki shook his head. 'Alfheim mourned with Jotunheim. Queen Sansa was adored, loving, kind, good.' Loki found himself smiling. 'And King Laufey. She could say "jump" and he would not have even questioned how high she would have wanted him to do so, he would have done it to please her.' Dafydd looked to the twins. 'Those two are the most regal children in the realms.'

'How so?' Loki looked at his children, confused.

'Well, King Laufey, Jotnar, King Odin, Aesir, Queen Frigga, Vanir and Queen Sansa was in some way related to King Fjorg, and by blood too, that is four realms royalty in two little beings.'

'The Allfather will fear them to be used to bring Asgard down.' Ardan stated.

'Sigyn would never go against her family.' Loki stated.

'It is now known that Prince Thor stands with Princess Sigyn in all of this, but to the Allfather, that is still the downfall of the Asgard he wants, and that is the biggest issue.'

'Is she safe?'

'The King is on Asgard as we speak, I cannot see how she will be in danger.' Ardan responded.

Loki was not as sure.

Odin watched as Sigyn stood in front of them, completely unnerved by her nonchalant behaviour. When she started to smile, even Fandral seemed to become unsettled. As he ordered her to take Fandral's hand, she did so with almost curiosity, it caused him to look to Thor, who seemed somewhat intrigued by events also.

What was more concerning is when he went to wrap the ribbon around their hands, immediately, it burned to nothing. 'What have you done?' He demanded, glaring at her.

'Nothing.' She stated, boredly.

'Lies!'

'Mother, be a dear and tell your husband whether or not I am using my seidr.' Sigyn sneered before looking at her. Frigga, for her part, looked at her husband and shook her head. 'See. I am doing nothing to anything at this moment.'

'Then why did it do that?' Her father challenged.

'Probably because of deep magic.' She shrugged.

'What "deep magic" are you on about? You knew this would happen, didn't you, that is why you are acting as you are?'

Sigyn sighed. 'Yes, I did.'

'Why would it not tie?' Frigga asked.

'Most likely because I am already married for nearly a year and the magic that binds that marriage is legitimate as it was done by the High Priest Kiernan on Alfheim, and it cannot override that.' Her parents stood staring at her, silently with their mouths open. 'Did I not mention that?'


	44. Chapter 44

'What did you just say?' Frigga asked, her voice low.

'Did I stutter?' Sigyn leant forward slightly. 'I am already married.' She said the words slowly and clearly.

'You can't be.'

'I think you can see that I am. Actually, do you know what, I am sick of this whole charade.' She concentrated hard and surged her seidr so that it disintegrated the choker around her neck. 'That was driving me insane. You are losing your touch, Father.' She extended her arm to her mother. 'Check it.'

With a wave of her hand, Frigga was able to make visible the magic binding that covered her hand that confirmed that indeed, a wedding knot had been in place. 'Laufey knew.'

'He warned you the ties of the houses were far stronger than you thought.' Sigyn shrugged. She turned to Fandral and spoke sincerely. 'I cannot express my remorse for ever getting you involved in this utter farce, Fandral. I am so incredibly sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. You are a good man, you do not deserve this.' She leant forward and kissed his cheek. 'I think you had better leave now.'

Looking at the Allfather and Allmother, for a moment, Fandral was unsure as to whether or not he should leave, but a nod from Thor caused him to. 'I don't know what to say.' Turning, he did as she suggested. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Fandral exhaled, relieved that the charade was over and that Sigyn and Thor had prevented him being caught up in the turmoil that was taking place. He felt incredibly guilty that he had not stayed with them, but he knew that they would deal with it, regardless, together. He decided to remain close, in case Thor required him.

Thor, knowing that without an audience, his father could become more volatile, went immediately to his sister's side.

'Traitors, both of you.' Odin hissed.

'We are no such thing.' Thor stated adamantly.

'You have taken my son from me, corrupted him.' Odin yelled at Sigyn, getting closer to her.

'I am my own man, Father. None have corrupted me, it is you that is corrupted, your mind corrupts you.' Thor stood forward, shielding and in turn, defending his sister. 'You do not respect me as a man, you do not accept this.'

'She ruined you.' Odin's voice remained loud and angered.

'She opened my eyes to the sadistic cruel bastard you have become.' Thor bellowed. 'You had her caged, tortured by removing her seidr for childbirth, then had her children taken from her, and forced into a sick form of servitude to you, all because you think some stupid prophecy would make your Asgard fall. Your Asgard will fall because I refuse to follow a man that sees no wrong in doing such horrific acts.'

As Thor and Odin fought, something came to Sigyn. She looked up. Laufey's words regarding the ceiling. It was odd, she thought, but she recalled his looking up, as though expecting to see something other than what she had always seen. She frowned for a moment before an idea came to her.

Frigga and Odin stepped back slightly as long jagged blades came to her hands, she threw several to the ceiling, each finding purchase deep in the plaster before she pulled it down by calling the blades back to her.

The whole ceiling came crashing to the ground. With her seidr, she protected them and the guards in the room from the debris. When the dust settled again and she looked up, both she and Thor were startled into silence.

The scenes that were presented to them were not the same as the ones that they knew since childhood. They were dark, brutal and anything but the bright and happy murals they were used to.

'Oh my….' Thor looked at them in shock.

'Asgard will not fall because of my being born fulfilling whatever a prophecy predicted,' Sigyn stated as she looked at her father. 'She would do so because her foundations are rotten to the very core.' she walked forward a few steps. 'I knew already you had many things buried under rugs, I never realised you simply plastered over them too. You really are a Warmonger.'

'You have no idea of the…' Odin began in his defence.

'It is there, above us.' She pointed to the ceiling angrily. 'As plain as our faces, your bragging of your victories. Asgard is born of the enslavement and pillaging of the weak, and there, in the middle of it, you stand, proud.'

'The wars left the realms poor…'

'I don't want this.' Thor stepped back, his hands in the air. 'I do not want to sit on a throne that is made with the cost of the lives of innocent men, women and children, I don't. I cannot.'

'Be reasonable, you stupid boy…'

'How is my youth stupidity when at the age you did these terrible actions, I can see how wrong they are?' Thor challenged. 'I am no young boy for you to reprimand as though insolent, I am a fully grown man who, until you realised I would not follow your exact path, you had no issue with my being crowned, only since I suggested that how the situation with Sigyn was handled badly have you considered me unfit.'

'You are unfit if you agree with that.' Odin stepped towards Thor.

'And you are unfit if you would think your daughter should suffer as she has because of your pride.' Thor matched his father and stood chest to chest with him. 'I am your son by blood, and like my sister, I love you, Father, I do, but I hate you also for all you have done to our family. You broke it with your actions. My sister needed her father, she needed the one man that is supposed to always look out for her, want the best for her, and you failed her. What is most tragic in it is that your failure was not out of intended malice, but your own thwarted belief in what she needed. And you were so adamant that it could not be what is the best option for everyone, based on the race involved. Sometimes the Norns work in ways we do not understand, even Laufey seems to think this is a manner to instil peace once more.'

'Laufey….'

'Why do you hate him so? What reason did the Jotnar give you to despise them so deeply, to pull their very power source from the realm, the hatred you have cannot have stemmed so much from that time or you would have left that baby there to die.' Odin's clenched jaw was all he got in return. 'Sig, I think it is time you did what you need to do.'

'No!' Odin ordered, making to get to her, but Thor blocked him.

'All you are going to do is banish and exile me. I am merely saving you the trouble.' She stated. 'I am sorry I could not be the daughter you wanted, I am, but what you wanted was a mindless fool and I am neither.' She looked sadly at her father. 'I do love you, Father, I do, but you never loved me and I don't think you ever will, I have to accept that, but I do not have to endure it. I think you both took calling me "Sigyn the Loyal" too seriously and assumed my unfaltering allegiance when really, neither of you thought whether or not you were worthy of being loyal to.' She looked between her parents before shaking her head. 'I am going home, to my husband and my sons.' She stated before turning and walking out of the room.

As soon as she got around a few corners, she shook and began to feel as though she was gasping for air and leant against a wall.

'Sigyn?' Fandral, who had waited there for his friend, rushed over to her, thinking her to be crying when to his amazement, she was smiling and laughing. 'Are you alright?'

'I am free.' She smiled a smile of utter relief at him. 'I am free of this madness.'

'What has happened?'

'I am leaving.'

'You are going to them?' She smiled and nodded. 'Good.' For the first time since seeing her that evening, Fandral smiled back.

Sigyn hugged him tightly. 'Thank you, for all you have done.'

'I am glad to have helped, all things considered. Though I now understand the whole ribbon not tying thing, I wish I had known that in advance, that was deeply concerning.'

Sigyn laughed. 'Of all of the things that were thrown at you, that is the one that you think was most concerning?'

Fandral chuckled. 'True, actually.' He smiled at her. 'I am so happy for you.'

'Thank you.' Sigyn smiled sadly. 'You deserve the realms, Fandral, you are such a good man. If there is one thing in all of this that I am glad of, it is that I got to know you and for you to show me just how wrong my opinion of you was.'

'I wish I could have done that without the suffering you have endured. You are the strongest being I have ever met, Sigyn.'

'Yeah, well. I knew that anyway.' She dismissed playfully. Her smile fell slightly as she noticed the other warriors coming towards them curiously. 'If you are ever on Alfheim, come say hello.' She gave him another hug. 'I hope you find that woman you want, like your mother and that you are as happy together as your parents are, I really do.'

'Thank you, Sigyn. I hope you and your family are as happy.' Fandral whispered back.

When they pulled apart, she inhaled deeply. 'My parents are still in shock of all of this, so I better get my ass off realm before they come to their senses and stop me.'

'I'll have your horse readied, get what you need.'

'I don't need anything. I will make do as I am.' She stated. 'Although…'

'Go, whatever it is, do it quickly.' Fandral insisted, heading towards the others.

Sigyn wanted to know what he would say to them, but she had a more pressing issue to tend to, so she rushed off. 'Tell them the truth.' She shouted as she did so.

'What is going on?' Sif asked as Fandral came to them.

'I cannot explain it fully now, but the long and the short of it is, this was all a ploy to stop the Allfather and Allmother casting Sigyn to Midgard permanently, because a year or so ago, she did something that displeased them and so Thor asked me to pretend to be in love with Sigyn, but the Allfather kept pushing things along and tried to marry us tonight, but it would not work as Sigyn is already married and now she is leaving to go be with him and the Allfather is not pleased, I think Thor is holding him back and I need to get Sigyn off-realm.'

There was a moment in which the three other warriors were in silence trying to compute what was just said to them.

'Sigyn is married?' Volstagg repeated.

'Apparently so. I didn't know that myself until a moment ago. The collar the Allfather had on her forbid her telling anyone about any of it.'

'So Laufey spoke the truth, that the Allfather has had her like that?'

'Yes.'

'Who is she married to?' Hogun asked curiously.

'Laufey's son.'

'Helbindi? Wait, that is why they are here?'

'No. No there is another, one that was born to his second wife, he...I have no idea what happened, but he ended up on Asgard for some reason, something to do with Odin, they never knew that Laufey was his father, not until other things happened. There is no time for this now, I will explain later. She needs to get to the Bifrost.'

'Right, let's go.' Volstagg insisted.

'But you knew all of this, from the start?' Sif asked, waiting for verification.

'I knew that it was a rouse, yes, I did not know she was wed or a lot of other stuff, but from the beginning, there was never any lying as to our feelings on this, we both knew it was an act, yes.'

Sif nodded. That little itch that there was something amiss in the whole situation finally eased as she realised there was nothing for her to worry about, Sigyn had not gone and hurt one of her friends maliciously. 'Okay, let's go.'

Sigyn rushed through the hallways and past the startled looking guards of Laufey's corridor. 'It's an emergency, I need to speak with King Laufey.' She called as she got to within hearing distance of those at his doorway. The two guards opened the door, having been instructed by their king that should the Aesir princess require him, to allow her in. she came to a halt by crashing into a lounging chair, startling the Jotun monarch and his son, who were sitting discussing a matter. 'You need to leave, now.' They rose to their feet. 'It's all out. Odin tried to force me to marry Fandral.'

'And the ribbon would not tie.' Laufey finished.

Sigyn shook her head, confirming that it did not work. 'It all came out, and I remembered what you said of the ceiling.'

'I was wondering what that was.' Laufey chuckled. 'It is amazing how much some try to cover the past.'

'My whole life, I was told you were monsters, I did not realise the true monster was in front of me all along.'

'You were a child obeying her father.' Laufey placated. 'What is happening now?'

'Thor is keeping Odin occupied with arguing while I flee. But I could not go without warning you.'

'Thank you, child. Now go.'

'What will you do?' She asked, worried for them.

'I will deal with this here, but you need to go. You are in more danger than any of the rest of us. You have waited long enough to be a mother to my grandsons. If you are in need of safe passage, you know how to get to our city, Ardan will bring you there.'

Nodding slightly, she gently put her hand on his arm. 'Thank you,' before turning and running again, not waiting to ask who Ardan was.

'Father?' Helbindi looked to his father, worried.

'We do what we must. If I do not see my realm flourish once more, I will die to ensure it.' He turned and faced his youngest son. 'Go, get back to Jotunheim, this is not your battle.'

But Helbindi did not move, instead, he shook his head. 'The line lives on, even without me. It is not my battle, but this is my place.' Laufey smiled proudly.


	45. Chapter 45

Fandral had her horse waiting for her, Tempest seemed to know there was a sense of urgency as she ran down to the stables. As soon as she came into view, she gave a whistle and the horse pulled free and cantered over to her. Using a wall to allow her jump onto his back, she righted herself and dug her heels in before making her way through the streets as quick as she could. As soon as she got to the bridge, she pressed in her heels and Tempest lived to his name as his hooves struck the bridge with a sound like thunder and they galloped to the far end with a speed that seemed to try and rival lightning. On their arrival, Sigyn dismounted and pulled the horse by the reins into the Bifrost. 'Heimdall?'

'Princess.' He turned and walked up to the centre of the Bifrost.

Sigyn smiled to see the sword already in place. 'Second time's the charm, right?'

'I hope…' Heimdall paused before sighing and shaking his head. 'I am sorry, Princess.'

Sigyn bit her cheeks for a moment. 'Which one?'

'Me.' She turned to face her mother. 'So, this is it? Running away, not facing the consequences, like a child?'

'I am facing the consequences of my actions. I accidentally caused my sons to be created, so I am being a responsible adult and being with them, raising them.'

'You have no idea what to do.'

'I am not going to pretend I know everything, but I am their mother, I am not some bumbling fool. I won't have a pile of nursemaids to assist me, and I will get things wrong, but you know, I will actually accept my shortcomings.'

'You think my actions are faulted.'

Sigyn scoffed. 'Look around, Mother. We are standing in the Bifrost. I am fleeing the realm as nigh on a fugitive to be with my children because you.' She pointed to her mother. 'Took them from the room without me ever being able to see them.'

'It was only going to make it harder.'

Sigyn laughed. 'No, it couldn't have. Living was torture without them. You never suffered it, you cannot understand.' She stepped forward. 'Sansa's last moments of life were spent protecting Loki, she died praying to the Norns that he would be saved. I do not have a way of seeing it, but I know it because it was my thoughts, they are the thoughts of a mother that is being forced from her child. I thought the very same thing, the only difference is, she died, meaning that she no longer could worry. I have not slept without a single night passing that I have not woken crying, wanting to be with them as the vague image of one and the knowledge I never saw the other plague me. How could you have done that to me? How could you have been so heartless?'

'Do not say such things to me, I am your mother.'

'And I am their mother!'

'You are the princess of Asgard, you cannot just leave.'

'Watch me.'

You have a duty to the realm.'

'My greatest duty is to them.'

'So you would abandon your family, just like that?' Frigga snapped her fingers.

'I am going to my family.' She retorted. 'I have two little boys who need their mother. I have a husband I love with all of my heart and who I would have ten more children with if he wanted. I love my family and I would die for them.'

'When did this marriage take even take place?'

'The reason Loki and I were not in Aunt Ana's when you got there is because we were on our honeymoon. We wanted our children born to a home that had both parents, we wanted them to be legitimate.'

'You really have sealed Asgard's fate.' Frigga stated sadly. 'With childish selfishness.'

'You have sealed it by being a terrible Queen. You could have stopped this years ago, you could have copped Odin on, but no, you were selfish, you liked everything that his actions got you. Whatever else happens, I know I am being a responsible adult, while you act like nothing more than a selfish lapdog to her bigoted…' In all honesty, Sigyn knew it was coming, she could see it before it landed and if she wanted, she could have defended herself, but she allowed it. The moment Frigga's hand connected with her face told her that her mother had thought she was going to prevent it striking her. The acceptance on Sigyn's face shook Frigga. 'Does it make it better, Mother? Does it take the sting from my words? I cannot see how. Goodbye, Frigga. I hope you can find it in yourself to change how you are, in hopes that the day will come that you will realise the wrongs here today. I am going to my family. If Odin sends anyone, he had better send them all, because I can and will destroy any that come for me or mine.' She warned. 'I know what my name really means, the one from the prophecy that I was so long blamed for.' Frigga's head tilted slightly. 'I am sorry for what my birth did to you, taking that from you, the chance of more children, but I did not ask to exist and I will not apologise for existing, now I am going to exist to the best of my ability.' She turned. 'Heimdall. If you would, please.'

'It will be my honour, Sigyn, the Loyal, the Victory Bringer.'

Inhaling deeply, Sigyn mounted her horse before turning to her mother. 'I forgive you both, tell him that.' She stated as the machine began to whir to life. 'Even if you are not sorry. You did what you thought was right, you just….did not realise that what you thought was right is anything but.' She nudged Tempest with her heels. 'Thank you, Heimdall.'

'Safe travels, Princess.' The Guardian smiled as he watched her walk the horse into the light and disappear across the realms. He pulled the sword from the Bifrost and looked at Frigga, who was crying. 'We are often blinded by our own beliefs, we forget others have their own.'

'You have no idea what…'

'You forget in your heartache, Allmother, I see all, and the Princess is only one of those I have been forced to endure see through great struggles. Asgard will change from this, there is no doubt, it can be for its better, or for the worse, that is up to the Allfather.' He said nothing more to the queen as he turned to face the realms again.

Odin stared out the window of his rooms as the Bifrost finished sending Sigyn where she wanted to go. 'Are you satisfied now, now that our realm is left in this turmoil?' He turned to face Thor, who was smiling.

'I am heartbroken, I want nothing more than to go into a dark room and not see any as I accept I will not see my sister for a very long time again, but yet, I am elated beyond measure, she is free to be with her family, her husband and her sons.'

'You knew they had wed?'

'Yes, Aunt Ana told me. I was her informer here by the way. I have betrayed you, I confess, but not before you betrayed Sigyn.'

'You are a traitor, and will be treated as such, you are not worthy of Mjolnir.'

'Yet here she remains, in my grasp.' Thor took the hammer and swung it around. 'Does this not tell you Father, your ideas are contorted and wrong?'

'Asgard will fall from this.' Odin did not look at his son.

'And perhaps that is not a bad thing. Let the rot die, cut it off, like a diseased limb, start afresh. The Jotnar are here, let this start us anew, accept Laufey's hand.'

'I...I cannot.'

'Then it is not Sigyn fulfilling a prophecy of destruction, it is you. I have read the prophecy, Father. And yes, the catalyst of it is clearly Sigyn, but that is not a bad thing, in no way does it indicate a terrible fate for our realm. We can take it to mean the end of everything, or we can see it as a turning point. I beseech you to see it as the latter, Asgard can and will rise from this stronger, if you choose to let it be.'

'And her?'

'Your daughter, Sigyn, you mean?' Thor scoffed, angered by his father's lack of ability to even reference Sigyn.

'You say yourself she is the subject of it.'

'I believe so, but her marriage, her children, they are not negatives, you need to cease seeing them as so.' Thor walked forward and left something on the table for his father. 'She wrote this for you, when you are in a listening mind, read it.' He turned and he left.

Odin glared at the envelope before snarling and turning away again.

Thor on the other hand, went to the quarters King Laufey was staying in, and waited to be announced.

'Jotnar usually sleep at this time.' Laufey growled once he saw him.

'I apologise for annoying you at this hour,' Thor bowed his head before looking at the Jotnar king and his attire. 'Though clearly…'

'Considering my daughter has had to flee the palace to return to my son and grandsons, I could not see fit to slumber.'

'We call such relations "daughters-in-law".' Thor informed him.

'When a woman marries into a family on Jotunheim, she is embraced fully into the family, she is my daughter by such now, and my responsibility.'

'Well, she is still my sister, that is not a role I am foregoing.' Thor stated with a smile.

Laufey chuckled. 'Then she is well loved and protected, not that she needs protecting.'

'If Father sends someone after her, she will decimate them where they stand.'

'That, I would believe. What has you here now, as I know she is gone?'

'She mentioned something of teaching Helbindi chess, she made me promise that I would.'

Laufey smiled. 'There was mention of that, yes.'

'While we wait to see if my father decides to declare war, how about we make a start?' Thor offered. Helbindi was concerned, but as he knew it was for his betterment, he sat down and listened to Thor.

Sigyn had little idea where it was she needed to go to find Loki, she had never been to Alfheim's village regions before, but she knew Heimdall would ensure she was close to where she needed to be. Concentrating, she closed her eyes and let her seidr come to the fore. As soon as she did that, she realised she could sense her sons' seidr. Ensuring she had Tempest going the correct direction. She pressed her heels in and made her way to where she felt she would find them.

It did not take long for her to smell what she needed to smell, burn and iron, the trademark smells of a forge. She all but jumped off the horse and went to the door, knowing it was her sons' seidr that she sensed within, she inhaled deeply and knocked on the door, all too aware it was the middle of the night. She heard noise inside sounding like people talking and someone coming to the door. It opened slightly and in the darkness all she could see was alabaster skin and green eyes. 'Sorry to interrupt your evening, but I was looking for my husband.' She smiled, her eyes filled with tears of joy.


	46. Chapter 46

Loki stared for a moment trying to process what was in front of him. In the yard of his home was the black horse he knew to be Sigyn's, yet he could not fully get his mind around her being outside the house. 'How?'

'I left.'

'Forever?' She nodded. 'Do they…?'

'They know everything.' She raised her neck to show him the collar was gone. Immediately, he pulled the door open fully and she rushed into his arms. 'I'm home.' Loki could not reply as tears cascaded down his cheeks at her being back by his side. 'If you'll have me.'

Loki pulled back and responded by kissing her. 'I am never letting you away from us again, not for one solitary night.'

'I wouldn't leave anyway.'

'Will he come looking for you?'

'I don't know, I really don't. But we have places we can go if he does.'

'Jotunheim?' Sigyn nodded. 'I got a surprise today.'

'I was so busy finally seeing you all again yesterday, I never thought to ask if you knew.'

'That Laufey, king of the Jotnar is my biological father, no I didn't.'

'Well, surprise.' She smiled with a slight giggle.

'So you will still take me?'

'I want no other.' She swore. There was a flickering of a shadow to their side, and on turning, Sigyn was a little startled.

'Father, it's nothing to worry about.' Loki insisted, having his father put down the large and somewhat scary looking weapon in his hand. Loki brought her into the room his father was in, his mother was up the stairs as though the last line of defence for the children. 'You remember Sigyn.'

'Well, about time we got a formal introduction.' Tomás chuckled.

'I wholeheartedly agree.' Sigyn nodded.

'So, you're what exactly, abdicated from your title, excommunicated…?'

'Both, I think. They were about to banish me, and I left just as they were about to do so, with words that made clear how I revoked them all willingly.'

'We're not as grand as any palace.'

'I don't need a palace, I need my family.' Sigyn explained. 'I have no need gold and silk, I need my boys.'

'They are asleep now.' Loki informed her.

'I know, and as much as I want to be with them, I need to let them sleep.'

Loki chuckled. 'You want to wake them, don't you?'

'So much, but I can't.'

Loki brought her to him. 'You can be there when they wake in the morning.'

'And every morning after.' Sigyn promised.

'Not wanting to bring anything negative to all of this, but the Allfather?' Tomás asked worriedly. 'I somehow doubt he simply left this happen.'

'My brother, King Laufey and I think the Warriors, or perhaps that is just hoping, are between him and here. I cannot guarantee there will not be trouble, and I know I am nothing but a terrible nuisance for it, I can only apologise. I am nothing but a beacon of trouble to you.'

'And we are stuck with you now,' Loki jested.

'You asked me to marry you, not the other way around.' Sigyn verified.

'Well, it is late, so we can argue this in the morning.' Loki ushered her towards the stairs.

'I….but Tempest is outside.'

'Father has stables we can use for him.' Loki offered.

'Okay, he needs to be dealt with first.'

'Why did you bring him?'

Sigyn frowned. 'He's my horse, I wouldn't leave without him.'

'He's huge and scary.'

'How the hell are you a blacksmith, this is literally the bread and butter to you?'

'Normal horses aren't like him.'

'Well, Sleipnir is his sire, so no, you're right.'

'That explains a lot.' Loki commented. 'Father, you and Mother go back to bed, we will deal with the horse and do the same then.'

'Very well, call us if you need anything.' Tomás looked at his son for a moment, since Sigyn had already gone to deal with her horse. 'And no additional grandchildren tonight, at least let these two walk first.' He warned.

'Yes, Father,' Loki shook his head as he walked out, though there was some hint of pink of embarrassment on his face as he did. When he went out, Sigyn was standing with her horse. 'This way.'

They put him in the biggest stable and with her seidr, Sigyn organised everything he needed. As soon as the door to the stable was bolted, the pair, who had been silent, turned to look at one another. Loki walked over to her and gently took her hand in his. 'Will you take me?' She whispered, worried that after everything, he would think her not worth it all.

Loki pulled her to him. 'Even knowing it was for show, the mere idea that another man had even been close to you has caused me to have sensations I never before felt.'

Sigyn bit her lip slightly. 'Such as?'

'Jealousy.' He brought them to a stall wall. 'I am your husband and for the rest of time, there will only be us.'

'I never wanted anyone else, I always made it in my mind that it was you.' She promised. 'There is only you.'

Loki had barely the patience to wait for her to cease speaking before kissing her feavourably, something she reciprocated immediately. 'Don't make your body cold.' He warned her as he started to move their clothing.

'I won't. I need to learn how to handle the two we have first.' She smiled, as she helped him move their clothes out of the way.

Sigyn woke early, her mind trying to understand what was the thing around her waist before she recalled the day before entirely. It had been late when she had arrived, even later when they went to bed, having enjoyed each other for the first time in months. Loki's arm moved slightly around her. 'Go back to sleep.' She urged.

'I can't with you twitching. Are you really that worried about something?'

'What?'

'You twitch when you are worried.'

'Really?'

'Yes, you did it when you were pregnant too.' He kissed the side of her neck. 'It is odd to have my arm fit around you. It could not do that before.'

Sigyn laughed slightly. 'What are you saying, exactly?'

'That you do not have our sons in your stomach.' He kissed her again. 'Go back to sleep.'

'I can't rest.'

'Well, there is a way we have dealt with that before.' He grinned.

'If I did not have to alter things to have me bear a child, we would have a dozen children before most would have their first.' She commented as Loki chuckled again, the pair kissing once more.

When she woke again, Sigyn was face to face with a gurgling Vali, who was lying next to her in the bed and excitedly looking at her. 'Who is this?' She looked next to her son to see his father smiling at her.

'Hello, my handsome boy.' She smiled, Vali gurgling excitedly as she spoke to him. 'I told you I would be back, didn't I?' He made an attempt to answer her in his own way. 'I missed you too much yesterday.' He used his little voice again to communicate with her before holding his hand out. As soon as Sigyn's blue seidr glowed, he beamed almost in elation.

'I feel left out with that.' Loki admitted.

'To say Sansa was able to carry a Jotun child means she had seidr, so you have some in you. I can help you with it if you would like?' She offered, but she noticed something in Loki's features. 'What?'

'I don't know. I feel sort of confused about it all.'

'Sansa?' He nodded. 'She died protecting you, I know she would be happy you were raised in a loving and good home.'

'How can you say that with any certainty?'

'Because, before I knew they were with you, that is all I wanted for our sons, I prayed for it.' She explained, looking at Vali and making funny faces, making him erupt in giggles.

Loki did not say anything for a few minutes as she watched his wife interact with their son. 'I better get Narfi to wake up, he won't nap later otherwise.'

'Where is he?'

'Next room.'

Sigyn rushed to her feet. 'I want to get him.'

'He is hard to wake.' Loki warned her.

Sigyn laughed. 'If I can wake Thor, I can wake anyone.' She stated before going to the next room. In there, there was a large crib, which clearly the twins shared, as it was almost double the size of a normal one. Looking in, she smiled lovingly at Narfi, who was, for all intents and purposes, identical to his uncle in how he slept. She could not wait to tell Thor, who she had little doubt would see it as a trait to be proud of. 'Narfi?' The child did not move. 'Hey, lazy bones.' She used her seidr to surround him and gently wake him. Confused and with a frown that reminded her of Loki, Narfi began to stir and then wake. 'Hey, sleepy head.' He paused and looked at her. 'Hello, beautiful boy.'

'Ah!' He responded, kicking his legs and sticking out his tongue.

'Hi.' She leant down and picked him up. 'Do you want to see your brother and father?'

'Ah!'

'I am going to take that as a yes.' She smiled, walking back into the other room, noticing that Vali was looking at the door for his mother, seemingly irked by her leaving. On seeing her return and with his brother in tow, he smiled again. Sigyn placed Narfi next to his brother and lay on the bed beside them, Loki on the other side. 'How did we make these two perfect little beings?'

'Well, we cannot discuss that in front of them.' Loki joked before looking at them as well. 'I think we did a good job.'

'I think so too.' Sigyn concurred. 'Do your parents hate me?'

'No. Why do you think that?'

'I have uprooted and threw disarray on their family, and now, with all of this, I may end up doing so once more.'

'You never asked for this.' Loki pointed out, but the guilty look remained on her face. 'Would you change it?'

That caused Sigyn to look up at him. 'No, I would alter certain things. Leave the palace before it got too far, not have it that I was stuck there, but you, them, never.' She confessed. 'You?'

'No, I would have done most everything the same.'

'What would you have changed?'

'Not finding out who you were, letting you leave at all that day.' She gave him a small smile. 'Do you think he will come?'

'I honestly cannot say. It all depends, we could walk downstairs and hear that he has restarted the war with Jotunheim, or he could be waiting for us or he may act as though I never existed, he is good at that.'

Loki frowned. 'Are you alright?'

'I am….getting on with it. It's odd, I am mourning the loss of a father that I never had. I realised he will never love me and that is hard, I always used to think, if I did something more, I would succeed in having him accept and love me, now I see that that is madness, but it means accepting things that are difficult to accept.'

'I am here.'

'What about you, what about the whole Laufey and Sansa situation?'

'I am still trying to process it.'

'Laufey was nothing short of good to me when he arrived in Asgard, ensuring I knew we could depend on them. He respects that this is your life, yet...he sees you as his son.'

'I don't know what to do with the information if I am honest.'

'Accept it, or ignore it, that is your choice, but know you are accepted regardless, as you are.'

'I have no idea what I am.' She said nothing but ensured he knew she was listening. 'I don't know what the true me looks like, all I know is this facade.'

'Does that matter to you?'

'I don't know what I even look like.'

'Do you want to know?'

'Can you change it?' Sigyn nodded. 'Do it.' She looked at him warily. 'Change me, please.'

Inhaling deeply, Sigyn gently touched him and watched as his alabaster skin turned blue. As soon as it came to change his entire appearance, she stared at her husband, wide-eyed.


	47. Chapter 47

Sigyn looked at Loki, him looking back at her worriedly. 'Am I…?' He asked fearfully.

'You have the same markings as the boys.' she smiled. 'It's obvious where they got their purple eyes though.' She magicked a mirror image of him for Loki to look at.

For a few moments, Loki looked at himself analytically, before looking back to Sigyn, who was clearly looking between him and the boys for similarities. 'Do you….If I stayed like this, would you still want me?'

'I love you, Loki, for you. I did find your Aesir form very appealing, I will not lie, but the man I love, I love in both of his forms.' She smiled.

'So if we…'

'Our babies are here,' She warned playfully. 'If you need us to do that to make you see I love you regardless, then so be it, but first, we have two boys that need breakfast.'

Laufey stood in front of Odin, ready for whatever came.

'Are you satisfied?' Odin growled. 'Asgard is in ruin.'

Though Laufey had planned to remain stoic, that caused him to chuckle. 'You wish to talk about something being in ruin, perhaps you should see Jotunheim after you took the Casket, that is ruin and even at that, we remain, we struggle on.'

'Helbindi is the last Jotnar to be born there from what I hear, your son is the youngest there is of your race, you are dying out.'

'Your daughter has revived our species.' Odin's lip curled. 'Why do you hold on so much to the past Allfather, it does you no good.'

'What you did…'

'Pales in comparison to you. I was a man in mourning, you were a man with power and bloodlust. It does not take from the wrongs I have committed, I live each day thinking of the innocent lives I took, but my actions were that of a being in grief, what were yours the result of, greed and the need to be seen to be more than the son of the Great King Bor.'

'You are really enjoying this.' Odin growled.

'What, Sigyn and Loptr? In one aspect, yes, I am. I am elated my son took his mother's goodness and that he shares my sense of sticking to his morals and stepping up for his family. I could not be happier. But regarding how my son was pulled from his soulmate, how she was collared, made suffer a birth that could have killed her and then torn from her children...that, that Odin, I will never find any pleasure in. What sort of being have you become to do that to your own child?'

'She had a chance to do better.' Odin bellowed.

'Better according to who? What right have you to dictate to her what is "better" she is her own being.'

'You have no understanding of these things, you all but threw Fárbauti from the palace to go chasing a woman you had no right even to think of. Of course, you see no issue with a princess running off because of some hairbrained idea instead of doing her duty to her realm.'

For a moment, Laufey was going to defend his son, but then, something came to him. 'That is what this is about.'

'What?' Odin demanded.

'Your anger, it stems from something so pitiful, how did it take me so long to see.'

'What are you saying?'

'Jord.' Odin's face fell. 'I should have known.' Laufey sighed. 'I gave you my sympathies then, but now, I must ask, if you were not allowed to marry her, why continue the cycle by not allowing your daughter to have the life you were not allowed have. Why continue the torment?'

'Duty…'

'I did my duty and I had a son that tried to kill me and a wife that did not wish to be so, when I chose what made me happy, I was graced with one that made me so in a manner I will never be able to express.'

'For all of five years.' Odin retorted.

'Five years with the one I love is better than five thousand with the one I cannot endure.' Odin gave him a scathing look. 'There is no denying you care deeply for the Allmother, I am sure that had a part in your actions with Sigyn, that she would learn to be happy with another, but unlike Sansa and Jord, Loptr lives and there are children that solidify her love.'

'You say you respect his being raised an Aesir, yet you call him that.'

'Sansa wished for him to be called that, and so, I will always refer to him as that.' Laufey explained. 'Your altering the conversation says everything, Allfather. If I may make a suggestion, step down, allow your son rule. I have spoken with the boy, he is wiser than any I have met his age, I believe his sister's situation has had a significant effect on him, he will be a good and fair king. Let the realm know of the marriage and as your son states, let the rot die, let both realms rise anew and fresh.'

'You think I would take advice from you?'

Laufey shook his head. 'I hoped you would listen to someone in similar standing. There are two ways for this to go, Odin, you step down, or you risk being thrown down. This way you guarantee your son the throne.'

'Are you threatening me?' Odin rose to his feet.

'No, but like I could tell what was happening here with Sigyn, I can tell you, your staff are murmuring, and now that the supposed fiance's family has been told the truth, the word is spreading, so embrace, or fall.' Odin became more enraged. 'You need to see sense. I hope you come to it soon, old friend.'

'We are not allies.'

'We were before, and I hope we shall be again. If nothing else, we are related, through our children.' Odin gave a snort of disgust. 'I should feel insulted, but of the two of us, which will take pride in them?' Odin gave a glare. 'Your hate will die with you, your son adores his nephews, mine is anxious to meet them, as am I.'

'You really are proud of this.'

'I am proud that my new daughter rose above having you as a father to achieve something resembling happiness in her life.'

'You are welcome to her.'

'You never deserved her.' Laufey retorted, turning to leave. 'Since I am not going to achieve what needs doing here.'

'So that is it, you are just going to leave?' Odin looked at the Jotnar king curiously.

'I came for an attempt at peace, I will not get it, so why bother remaining, I have a realm to run and two grandsons I wish to get acquainted with.' Was all Laufey stated before continuing to walk. 'I look forward to seeing whatever you place on the ceiling this time to erase the past.'

Odin's lip flickered up for a moment in utter contempt at the other king.

'Darling, there is nothing to worry about, come to bed.' Loki attempted to pull Sigyn away from the window, where she was looking out almost incessantly. 'Ardan is there, he will let us know if there is a reason to worry.'

'I just….he cannot just leave it, can he? After everything?'

Loki looked sadly at Sigyn, seeing that underneath it all, she wanted her father to care enough to bother. His utter indifference was more hurtful than she thought it could be. He leant against her and kissed her head. 'It's alright.'

'I never mattered…' She swallowed before going out of their now shared bedroom. Loki followed a moment later to see her standing at their sons' room door, clearly contemplating going in. 'I...How…?'

'I don't know. I cannot think of a situation where Narfi and Vali were not everything to me.'

'If they had been girls?'

'What would their gender matter, I would still love them, they are our children, regardless.' Loki put his arm around her again. 'I love you, your children love you, Thor loves you. My parents adore you. You are loved, Sigyn. You don't need him to love you to be valid.'

'I know, I just….' She sighed. 'Everyone wants to matter to their family.'

'Yes, I know. I never wanted for anything, I loved my parents all of my life, and I still do. But as a child, I wondered why I was not with my biological ones, was there something in me they did not like, were they wanting a girl or a more burly boy. That ate at me.'

'Now you know. You were wanted, so much, and loved, from before you were born.'

'I am lucky.'

Sigyn paused for a moment. 'Do you know, if you had been raised on Jotunheim, your name was going to be Loptr.'

'That's oddly similar to Loki.'

'Yes, I thought that too. Ironic really.'

'I prefer Loki.'

'Both are nice, Loptr suits Jotun you.'

'You really don't mind my true appearance?' Loki asked worriedly.

'Do you mind my odd stomach after the boys?'

'It is not odd, it had to grow two children in it, it is marked because it did what it had to.' Loki growled.

'Can you not see the difference? It is what it is. I love you, regardless, as you state you love me.'

Loki smiled slightly and kissed her chastely. 'Bed.'

'Fine.'

'And actually sleep, you are worse than when those two were unable to sleep through the night.'

'I have not been able to sleep through a night in so long, I am training myself into it.' Sigyn defended.

Loki pulled her into the bed and placed his hand around her, in the two weeks since she had come to Alfheim and as much as she was settling in most ways, Loki could not help but notice she was not resting well at all. 'Just rest.' He kissed her neck, though he knew it was easier said than done.


	48. Chapter 48

'Thor?' Thor glanced around at his mother. 'Where are you….?'

'Away, for a few days.' Was all he replied as he continued his journey.

'You are the Allfather, you cannot just leave for a few days.'

'I am the Allfather, and I can do anything I see fit.'

'Is…..is she alright?'

Thor pursed his lips for a moment before answering, taking into account his mother's remorse for her actions against her daughter. 'She's fine.'

'Good.' She smiled slightly.

'I will be back soon. Perhaps consider opening the lines of communication with her, she has stated before that she forgives you.'

'I am sure she could not mean it.'

'Well, that is your choice.' Thor stated, getting Mjolnir and swinging it fast toward the Bifrost, leaving his mother to consider her options.

When he arrived, Heimdall was smiling widely. 'You are late.'

'I had an unexpected delay.'

'Yes, I am aware.' Heimdall chuckled.

'How are they?'

'Good, though I should warn you, you are required to up your game.'

'I am the Allfather, who could trump me?'

'King Helbindi has gotten them pets.'

'How in the realms did Sig react to that?'

'He sought her permission beforehand.'

'Yes, that would work I would imagine.'

'There is also something she needs to discuss with you.' Thor looked at Heimdall worriedly. 'You shall see on your arrival.'

'Heimdall?'

'Nothing bad, I promise.' He smirked. 'Safe travels, my King.' He stuck his sword into the Bifrost and opened the portal to allow Thor through. When Thor arrived on Alfheim, he smiled at the pleasant day before swinging Mjolnir again and going in the direction of his sister's home. When he landed there, he looked at the building, silently wondering how his sister had come to live as she was.

Not long after her arrival, the forge was sold and a slightly bigger home and forge were constructed, allowing for Loki to continue working as an etcher and engraver away from the stifling heat of the forge itself, while Dafydd and Tomás worked on the general blacksmithing. The larger premises allowed for more work, which in turn, meant more production. But the home arrangements remained the same, Sigyn and Loki living with his parents.

The fact that it was now public knowledge that the daughter of the Allfather and the lost son of Laufey had met, fallen in love and wed without knowledge from any of the monarchs had become almost revered as being a fairytale love story, with two beautiful children included. Their Aesir/Vanir mother more than proud to show off her sons in their natural state, something many did not think would occur, knowing her to be a powerful seidr wielder, many assumed she would have them look more Aesir. The idea never once even crossed Sigyn's mind and when someone mentioned it to her, she was enraged at the idea her sons were not perfect as they were.

Dafydd and Loki's friendship developed more, with Loki knowing he could trust Dafydd with his life. Sigyn and Dafydd became somewhat close also, the elf seeing what drew Loki to the beautiful and kind-hearted woman, and Sigyn knowing that in their forced time apart, Dafydd had been a true friend to Loki. She would often come to the forge and joke that they were too busy laughing and talking to get anything resembling work done.

Thor did not even get to the door before it opened, the greenish tinge to the seidr that opened it gave him his warning before he was all but bowled over by two young children. 'Haha, not this time.' He beamed, able to keep his footing.

'We'll get you, Uncle Thor.' Narfi giggled.

Thor's smile fell. 'I feel that is meant somewhat ominously.'

'No, Uncle Thor, we are going to get you because we are growing and you are not, so we will be strong enough soon.' Vali laughed, hugging onto his uncle.

'You will never be stronger than me.' Thor flexed a muscle.

'We don't need to be stronger than you, we just to be strong enough to beat you.' Vali pointed out.

Thor stared at his nephews. 'Oh, you are your mother's sons.'

'Yep.' Nafi started toying with his seidr. 'Is it true Mamma turned you into a frog?'

It was utterly unheard of for someone of high standing to allow their child call them anything other than "Mother" or "Father" in Aesir society. Proprietary was seen as a declaration of one's stature in society. But Sigyn had disregarded that completely and was allowing her sons to call her anything that made them happy, "Mamma" was how they referenced her, and should they elect to call her that at three thousand years old, she would still not reprimand them for it. Thor encouraged it also, seeing the relaxed atmosphere his sister's home had in comparison to the strict upbringing they had.

'I am not answering that, because it will not be information used for any good.' Thor insisted. 'Where is your Mamma?'

'Gone to help Ms Higgins, she will be back in a minute.'

'And you Dad?'

'In the forge, getting something done for Mamma.' Narfi put his finger to his lips. 'But, shh, it's a surprise.'

'I see.' Thor nodded.

'Allfather.' Thor turned to see Tomás looking at him. 'You're here.'

'I promised I would be, Sig would not accept an excuse outside of Ragnarok.'

'Indeed she would not. You just missed King Helbindi and Laufey. They were here yesterday, giving my grandsons more ways in which to create mischief.'

'I heard, show me these new friends of yours.' Thor urged, allowing the boys to direct him where they wished for him to go.

He was in the middle of playing with his nephews and their new pets, creatures by the name of gerbils that were dainty and in all honesty, quite cute when they heard the door opening. 'Mamma, Uncle Thor is here.' Narfi called out

'I know, I heard the Bifrost.'

'Is Ms Higgins alright?' Tomás asked, seeing his wife make her way in before Sigyn had a chance.

'Oh you know her, she will outlast us all.' His wife dismissed. 'Allfather.' Thor gave a small nod in response. 'I see you have been commandeered to do childminding.'

'It is not a chore when it is your own kin.' He smiled, looking at Vali, who was sitting on his lap.

'No, not really. With both Loki and Sigyn working, it would not do well to see it any other way.' She smiled.

Thor nodded in agreement. Sigyn had fought hard to finally be allowed do as she always wished, and though she was older than most others when they started, she proved quickly that she was able to catch up with what was required in her training, much to her delight. Thor was the one to ensure she had everything she needed to set herself up as the local healer. He rose to his feet as soon as he heard his sister speak, but it was Loki who entered first, earning a large smile and a handshake. 'Finally, I hope they didn't wind you too badly.' Loki indicated to his sons, who were both grinning at their father from the floor.

'Not yet, though I think they will if they keep going as is.' Thor chuckled. 'Have I offended you, Sig?'

'Not that I am aware of, but you have only been here for ten minutes.' Came Sigyn's voice. 'I just need to put this away or I will be looking for it later. What is new on Asgard?'

'Nothing much. King Ásvaldr is sending a council for talks.'

'Ásvaldr, of Niflheim?'

'The one and the same. After the peace treaties with Muspelheim and Jotunheim, they wish to come to the table.' Thor smiled.

'Not bad for being king with five hundred years.' Sigyn commented.

'Are you coming in at all, I feel odd….really?' Thor ceased talking as Sigyn walked into the room and then looked between her and Loki.

'Well, I was going to tell you, but when you said you were coming to visit.' She smiled walking over to him and embracing him tightly.

''How...many?' He asked, looking at her rounded stomach.

'One, thankfully. I could not deal with two at once again.'

'We are getting a sister.' Vali beamed happily.

'A girl?' Thor looked to his sister for confirmation, she nodded causing him to smile in elation and turn to Loki and congratulate him. 'Looks like Fandral's daughter will have a little friend.'

'What?'

'Yes, Fandral and Tara are having a daughter. I am the only non-parent out of my peers.'

'Well, if you want to change it, change it.'

'I rather the role of doting uncle now. And I will get to do it again soon.' He beamed at her stomach.

'I think you are looking forward to this almost as much as we are.' Sigyn laughed.

'I love being "Uncle Thor", it's all the fun of parenthood with only a fraction of the responsibility.' He beamed, causing his sister to smile. 'Mother asked for you.' That caused her smile to fall. 'I stated that she should consider…' He noted how Sigyn seemed almost protective of her stomach on the mention of their parent. 'I told her to consider trying to make amends.'

'Perhaps.'

'Father…'

'There was never any chance.' She stated sadly. Since their father's passing, Sigyn had not mentioned him. As far as she was concerned, after her initial time of trying to accept his indifference, she had thought him already dead. She did not return for his funeral as she felt it was hypocrisy for her to do so, instead, she minded her own business and continued her life. He had no time for her alive, she had no time for him dead.

'No, he chose his path.' Thor sighed, thinking of how the whole court argued with the king, threatening mutiny and standing by their allies and Jotunheim should he decide to not step down and give the crown to his son, they tired of war, they wanted a new slate. After the revelations with how he wished to deal with Jotunheim and with the securing of peace through Sigyn's marriage, along with how the past came to light and how it made people feel angry and uncomfortable, it was agreed that Thor was ready to take his father's place. Odin went into an Odinsleep and did not wake after Thor gave the Jotnar the Casket back. Thor knew his lack of making amends with Sigyn was something that ate at Frigga, who of late seemed to spend more and more time asking for her. 'But should she show true remorse?'

'I cannot say right now.' She looked at her sons. 'If they were not good enough…'

'Remember when I went to Vanaheim, idiotic, naive, and proud?'

'How can I forget, though you are the same now.' She joked.

'A year changed me. I thought about your kind gesture, and how I never even thought you would do such things, and when I returned...I changed, considerably.'

'Into an incredible man and good king.' Sigyn smiled.

'Five hundred years is a long time, Sig.'

'Do you think she has changed?'

'Personally, yes.' Sigyn mulled over his words. 'I understand your reluctance, especially considering…' He indicated to her stomach.

'I cannot….' She shook her head, she rose to her feet. 'I don't know.'

Loki immediately went over to her, giving her his support, Sigyn leant in against him as he kissed her temple. 'You don't need to actively seek her, and if she does extend the hand, you can decide when it happens.' He rubbed her stomach where he knew their daughter was prone to kicking, only to be rewarded with a nudge.

'Sig?' She turned to look at her brother. 'You have to think of you first, you and my little niece. You asked if I think she is changed, I am being honest with you. But you do not owe anyone, not at the cost of your happiness or well being, that is your priority.' He insisted. 'Well, yours and your family's.'

'Why now though?' Sigyn pondered.

'I don't know.' Thor confessed.

*

Frigga looked at the letter in her hand. She had read it several times that day, and many more times the days before when she found it, open amongst Odin's belongings she had kept from his desk, where he kept his most prized possessions.

Father,

I know you do not care, but perhaps in my youthful naivety, I thought you would listen to my words o n paper, since this way, we will not argue. This way, I can speak and maybe, just maybe, explain it.

I know you hate me, and in many ways, I hate it myself, both myself and you for everything that happened. My mistake and your reaction to it.

I messed up terribly with my actions, I knew that the moment I realised why my body was changing, but I cannot say I wish things had been different because if they had been, I would not have my sons or their father. I love them, all three of them, with an intensity I cannot begin to explain. If I could turn back time, I wouldn't.

I never meant to disappoint you, yet I clearly have been doing so since my birth. I am sorry you are disappointed that what you wanted in a child is not what you got, but I will never say sorry for being me. I love me, I take pride in who I am, even my bad traits, I take pride in that, because it is who I am.

I know you don't care, but to me, no one has ever made me feel as loved as Loki has. I am not disregarding this family for some mere whim. Loki is the first man to ever care for me, truly care for me as I am and not because of some sense of familial duty or my title and I know you will disregard that as me simply being foolish, but know that, to me, the knowledge that he cares and loves me as intensely as I love him, means that I realise my worth and those worthy of my of loyalty.

I wish this had been different. That when you saw Narfi and Vali, that you felt happy and wanted to be a grandfather to them. I wish their births was reason to celebrate to you, and not a form of shame. I can only hope that the day will come when you will want to get to know them.

I'm sorry.

Sigyn.

Finding her letter, her attempt to explain herself caused Frigga to feel more guilt than she ever knew to be possible. She realised just how incredibly dismissive she was of her daughter, thinking her too young and foolish, but it was clear to her now, she was wrong. She would do anything to turn back time, she would do so much so differently.


End file.
